All three turned.
A girl stood halfway up the stairs in pink pajamas, clutching an old stuffed rabbit so tightly its ear was bent flat in her fist. She looked about eight. Her face was swollen from crying. Her hands were trembling.
And she would not look at her father.
—”Daddy…” she whispered.
That was enough for María.
She stepped past the doorway.
Thomas moved to block her.
—”You can’t just come into my house—”
But Daniel was already inside.
Upstairs, Emily’s bedroom told a story the front yard never would have. Toys were scattered across the floor, but not like a child had been playing. Like things had been kicked aside. One drawer hung crooked. The sheets were twisted. On the girl’s arm, just beneath her pajama sleeve, María saw dark bruises in the shape of fingers.
She knelt until she was eye level with the child.
—”Emily,” she said softly, “can you tell me what happened?”
The girl squeezed the rabbit against her chest so hard her knuckles went white.
Her eyes flicked toward the hallway, where Daniel was holding Thomas back.
Then she whispered the words that changed the whole room.
—”He said if I told… he was going to kill me.”
