“Let me help you,” I said gently.

She flinched.

Beneath the strap was a clean medical bandage covering a recent procedure near her shoulder.

My chest tightened.

“Did you fall?”

Lily shook her head.

“Was it an accident?”

She shook her head again.

Then she whispered, “I’m not supposed to tell.”

Every instinct I had came alive at once.

I kept my expression calm and told her we were going to visit a doctor, just to make sure she was all right. She nodded.

It didn’t look like trust. It looked like surrender.