Meanwhile, medical staff cared for Violet, and the child-protection team arranged for the twins not to be released into an unsafe situation before a proper assessment.

That night, Paul completed his incident report at a desk that still smelled of burnt coffee.

He wrote about the rainwater dripping from the girls’ sleeves, the empty syringe inside Nora’s shoe, the words Violet had spoken, and his decision to contact emergency services.

He resisted adding the conclusions that seemed obvious to him.

An accurate account needed to survive scrutiny from people who had never stood in that lobby.

He paused over one sentence: Nora said, “Daddy checks our pockets.” He remembered how matter-of-factly she had said it.