"Cleo, calm down," Nova said, feeling a wave of helplessness wash over her as she faced her three-year-old daughter's hostility and misunderstanding.

"It was you! You did it!" Cleo shouted, her voice piercingly high, convinced of Nova's guilt.

Joshua, a tall figure, stepped in front of Cleo and asked calmly, "Little one, can you prove that Nova caused your aunt's death?"

Startled by Joshua's question, Cleo, who had never met him before, turned and ran to her grandparents, ...