Mia's POVThe smell, industrial disinfectant mixed with something.The kind of smell that lived in the walls of places where people went when society had decided they couldn't be trusted with freedom anymore.Madison's small hand found mine as we walked through the metal detector, her fingers cold despite the building's aggressive heating. She'd been quiet during the drive here, sitting in her booster seat with her elephant clutched against her chest, staring out the window at the gray February sky like she was memorizing clouds."Remember what we talked about," I said softly as we waited in the sterile lobby area. Around us, other visitors shifted in plastic chairs—a woman bouncing a crying baby, an elderly man clutching a paper bag that probably contained homemade cookies, a teenager with headphones around her neck who kept checking her phone.Madison nodded, her grip on her elephant tightening. "If I get scared, I can ask to leave.""That's right." I smoothed her hair. "And what el
최신 업데이트 : 2025-09-20
