Paul printed the pharmacy record and placed it beside the sealed syringe envelope.

Then he added a single line to his official incident log: CHILDREN REQUESTED PROTECTION PRIOR TO PARENT ARRIVAL.

Outside, tires hissed across the wet asphalt.

The ambulance was still two blocks away, its siren faint in the distance.

A dark luxury SUV pulled into the station lot first.

Nora saw the vehicle through the glass doors and froze instantly.