“My neighbor insisted she saw my daughter at home during school hours… so I pretended to leave for work and hid under the bed. Minutes later, I heard multiple footsteps moving down the hallway.”

My heart sank. “That can’t be true,” I insisted, forcing a smile. “She must be mistaken.”

But on my way to work, the unease wouldn’t leave my chest. Lily had been quieter lately. She was eating less. She was tired all the time. I’d chalked it up to high school stress… but what if it was something more?

That evening at dinner, she seemed normal: polite, calm, assuring me that school was “fine.” When I repeated what Mrs. Greene had said, Lily stiffened for a split second, then dismissed it with a laugh.

“He probably saw someone else, Mom. I’m at school, I promise.”

But I could tell that something inside her was trembling.

I tried to sleep, but my mind kept racing. What if I was skipping class? What if I was hiding something? Something dangerous?