Security footage had been disabled.
But another camera across the street captured a vehicle leaving eleven minutes before smoke appeared.
Maya showed us the image.
A dark sedan.
Sophie's breath caught.
“That's Jake's car.”
At 11:40 p.m., Alex prepared to leave for the warehouse.
Maya argued with him.
I argued louder.
Sophie refused to stay behind.
“No.”
Alex's answer was immediate.
She stood in the foyer wearing borrowed jeans and a sweatshirt, bruises dark against her skin.
“They did this to me because everyone keeps deciding things for me.”
Alex's face softened.
“That's not what I'm doing.”
“Yes, it is.”
“I'm protecting you.”
“Jake said that too.”
The words struck him.
Sophie continued.
“I won't go inside. I won't interfere. But I'm done hiding while people negotiate my life.”
Alex looked at me.
I knew that expression.
He expected me to side with him.
For once, I didn't.
“She goes.”
