Chapter 153

The call came on a Tuesday.

Not urgent.

Not dramatic.

But official.

Daniel glanced at his phone before stepping into a meeting. The school’s name lit up the screen.

He hesitated.

Then answered.

“Hi, this is Mrs. Carter from first grade.”

His posture straightened instinctively.

“Hi.”

“Nothing alarming,” she said quickly, the kind of tone that always means something is still wrong. “I just wanted to talk about something that happened during recess.”

Daniel ...