She was heading toward Margaret’s house.
Caroline followed.
So did her mother.
The camera angle did not show what had happened inside our home, but it clearly showed Caroline’s mother catching Ella by the wrist before she reached the street.
It showed Ella twisting away.
It showed Caroline standing close enough to intervene and doing nothing.
Then the microphone caught Caroline’s mother’s voice.
“You don’t run to neighbors,” she said. “You keep family business inside the family.”
Ella stopped breathing against my shoulder as the recording played.
The nurse at the desk looked up.
Caroline stood.
“Give me the phone,” she said.
I did not answer.
On the screen, Ella’s grandmother bent toward her.
“Your dad will believe whatever we tell him.”
The clip ended with Ella being led back toward our house.
