Chapter 2
I ran back to my house.
I locked the door behind me and leaned against it, trying to catch my breath.
My hands were shaking so bad I could barely hold my phone.
I watched the video again.
And again.
Linda's cruelty. Emma's terror. The sickening crack of her head against the table. David's blind faith in the woman who was hurting his daughter.
And those final two words.
Try me.
She knew I had seen everything.
And she was daring me to do something about it.
I called 911.
"There's a little girl next door," I said, my voice trembling. "She's hurt. Her stepmother pushed her. She hit her head."
The operator was calm and professional. She told me help was on the way.
I paced my living room, waiting.
Ten minutes later, I heard the sirens.
I looked out the window.
An ambulance pulled up to the house next door. Two paramedics rushed inside.
A police car arrived right behind them.
I watched, my heart in my throat.
A few minutes later, they carried Emma out on a stretcher. Her head was bandaged. She was still unconscious.
David walked beside her, holding her hand. He looked worried. Scared.
Linda followed behind them, dabbing at her eyes with a tissue. She looked up at my house.
Right at my window.
Our eyes met.
She smiled.
A cold, knowing smile.
I stepped back from the window, my skin crawling.
The police knocked on my door an hour later.
Two officers. One young, one older with kind eyes.
"Ms. Bennett?" the older one said. "I'm Officer Hale. This is Officer Torres. We understand you witnessed the incident next door."
I let them in.
I told them everything. What I'd seen. What I'd heard. How Linda had shoved Emma, kicked the locket, lied to her husband.
And I showed them the video.
Officer Hale's face darkened as he watched. Officer Torres shook her head in disgust.
When it was over, Officer Hale looked at me.
"This is good evidence," he said. "But it's not everything. We need to talk to Emma. We need to talk to David. We need to get the locket from under that couch."
"Will she be okay?" I asked.
"The hospital says she has a concussion," Officer Torres said. "She's going to be fine. But she's scared. She won't talk to anyone except her father."
"And David?"
Officer Hale sighed. "He's sticking to his wife's story. Says Emma tripped. Says you're a new neighbor who's making trouble."
Of course he was.
"Can I see her?" I asked. "At the hospital? Maybe she'll talk to me."
The officers looked at each other.
"Family only right now," Officer Hale said. "But we'll put in a word with child protective services. They'll want to talk to you. And they'll want to see that video."
They left.
I sat on my couch, staring at the wall.
I'd done the right thing. I'd called the police. I'd given them evidence.
But it didn't feel like enough.
Because Linda was still out there. Still in that house. Still able to hurt Emma.
And David was letting her.
I thought about Emma's face. The way she'd smiled and waved at me just a few days ago. The way she'd cried out for her locket.
That locket was the last thing her mother had ever given her.
And Linda had kicked it under the couch like it was garbage.
I stood up.
I walked to the front door.
I didn't know what I was going to do. But I had to do something.
I opened the door.
And froze.
Linda was standing on my porch.
She was alone. No David. No police.
May you like
Just her.
And in her hand, she held the small wooden locket.
