The recording had not stopped.
Neither had the body cameras.
That mattered because Thomas was already trying to rewrite the night while it was still happening.
Daniel moved him away from the door.
Thomas resisted just enough to make the intention clear.
Not a misunderstanding.
Not a sleepy father wondering why police were upstairs.
He knew exactly which room Emily had indicated, and he did not want Daniel entering it.
María heard the struggle above and shifted so her body stayed between Emily and the staircase.
Emily’s fingers tightened around the rabbit again.
“You’re safe right here,” María told her.
Emily looked at her.
“Is he mad?”
María kept her answer simple.
“You don’t have to worry about him right now.”
Emily swallowed.
“He gets mad when I tell.”
María did not ask her to explain.
She did not fill the silence with questions.
