HIS NEIGHBOR WOULDN’T STOP REPORTING THE SOUND OF A GIRL CRYING INSIDE HIS HOUSE—THEN HE HID BENEATH HIS DAUGHTER’S BED AND HEARD HER PLEAD FOR SOMEONE TO SPARE HER

Rosa called a family attorney she knew from church. The attorney, Denise Patel, listened for fifteen minutes and said, “Do not send Lucia back to that house. Do not confront the school without records. File a police report for the threats and images. Request an emergency protective order if Veronica threatens further exposure. Preserve everything.”

Thomas did exactly what she said.

At the police station, Lucia trembled so badly she could barely hold the water bottle Rosa gave her. The detective assigned to them was a woman named Marisol Grant, calm, focused, and experienced enough to know teenage cruelty could become criminal quickly when images, coercion, and adult participation were involved.

She did not rush Lucia.