Ty snapped, “She’s lying!”
Emma cried, “No, she’s not,” her voice thin and trembling.
The officers arrived fast. One spoke to me while the other kept Ty back. “Ma’am, tell me what happened,” the first officer said.
I forced myself to slow down so my words didn’t trip over each other. “My daughter was supposed to be at piano. I followed her. I found her here feeding a kitten in a carrier. He was filming and talking about getting paid.”
The officer’s eyes moved to Ty. “Is that true?”
Emma pressed her face into my coat.
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Ty tried to laugh. It came out wrong. “It’s charity.”
The second officer picked up Ty’s phone carefully. “Then why do you have ‘episodes’?” he asked, eyebrows raised.
Ty went quiet.
Emma pressed her face into my coat. “Mom,” she whispered, “please don’t let it die.”
I kissed the top of her head. “It won’t,” I said, even though I was still terrified. “We’re getting real help.”
At the emergency vet, everything smelled like disinfectant. A tech took the carrier gently and knelt so she was at Emma’s level. “Hey, sweetheart,” she said, calm and kind. “We’re going to help your little friend.”
While we waited, my phone rang again.
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Emma’s voice shook. “They won’t put it down, right?”
“Not for being sick,” the tech said firmly. “We treat first.”
Emma exhaled with a sense of finality, happy that everything was behind her.
While we waited, my phone rang again. Ms. Carla’s name flashed on the screen.
“Hi,” she said, cautious. “I’m sorry. I just had a weird feeling.”
“You were right,” I said. “Emma hasn’t been coming. She’s with me now.”
“So he was watching.”
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A beat of silence. “Is she safe?”
“Yes,” I said. “But there’s a teen. He’s been around the studio.”
Ms. Carla’s voice dropped. “I’ve seen him,” she admitted. “He asked kids about pickup times. I told him to leave.”
“So he was watching.”
“Yes,” she said, and her anger finally showed. “I’m so sorry.”
“No, you called it out,” I said. “Thank you.”
“I didn’t want to disappoint you.”
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