"They said if I told you, they'd make it worse."

Nora didn't sleep that night.

At 6:15 the next morning, she drove Mia to the emergency clinic.

The doctor examined her carefully.

A fractured wrist.

Several bruises.

A deep scrape along her shoulder.

Nothing life-threatening.

But nothing that looked like an accident either.

The doctor pulled Nora aside.

"These injuries don't look consistent with a simple fall."

Nora stared at him.

"Are you saying someone hurt her?"

"I'm saying you should ask questions."

Nora looked through the glass at her daughter.

Mia was staring at the floor.

Nora made a decision.

She wasn't going to ask questions politely.

She was going to find answers.

Chapter 2 — The Name

At 8:03 a.m., Nora walked into Westbridge Middle School.

The receptionist recognized her immediately.

"Mrs. Bennett?"

"Where is the principal?"

"He's in a meeting."

"Then interrupt it."

The receptionist hesitated.

Nora placed the doctor's report on the desk.

"My daughter left this school yesterday with a fractured wrist."

The woman immediately picked up the phone.

Five minutes later, Nora was sitting across from Principal Harold Crane.

He was a polished man with silver hair and a carefully practiced smile.

"We're very sorry about what happened to Mia."

"What happened?"

"We believe she fell."

"She says someone pushed her."

Crane's expression barely changed.