The next morning, my phone rang while I was off work. I almost didn’t answer it.
Then I saw my son’s school’s number, and something in my chest tightened.
“Hello?”
“Sarah?” It was Principal Harris. “You need to come to the school. Now.”
Her voice sounded shaken.
My stomach dropped.
“Is Leo okay?”
There was a pause.
I almost didn’t answer it.
“There are men here asking for him,” Harris said, her voice trembling.
“What kind of men?”
“They didn’t say much, Sarah. Just… please come quickly.”
The call ended.
I didn’t hesitate as I grabbed my car keys.
My hands wouldn’t stop shaking on the wheel. Every possible outcome ran through my mind; none of them was good.
By the time I pulled into the parking lot, my heart was racing so fast it made it hard to think.
“What kind of men?”
I walked straight to the principal’s office and froze.
Five men stood in a line outside in military uniforms. Still. Focused. Serious and composed, as if they were waiting for something important.
Harris stepped out of her office and leaned toward me the second she saw me.
