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

He kept his voice low. “Look at my daughter and call months of threats a joke.”

Mr. Alden cleared his throat. “Mr. Medina—”

“No,” Thomas said. “You are going to hear this too. My neighbor heard my daughter screaming in my own house. I ignored it because my wife told me it was teenage drama. My daughter was being harassed at school and terrorized at home, and every adult in this room who was told even part of it chose convenience over courage.”

Nobody answered.