He had been trying to help his daughter feel safe.
He had simply chosen the wrong way to do it.
I handed the legal pad back to him.
“We can’t keep hiding from this,” I said. “Not you, not me, and certainly not Emily.”
Emily looked up.
“What are you going to do?”
I glanced toward the road leading back to town.
“We’re going to school.”
Her face went pale.
“No.”
“Emily—”
“No, Mom! Please! I told you why I didn’t want to tell anyone!”
“I heard you.”
“Then why are you doing this?”
“Because you deserve to walk into that building without being humiliated. And the people responsible need to understand that what they’re doing has consequences.”
She shook her head frantically.
“They’ll know it was me!”
“We’ll tell the school that protecting you from retaliation must be part of the plan. We’ll ask them to take this seriously, and we’ll work with you on what happens next.”
