The officer helped Linda into the back of his patrol car. She had never ridden in one before, and the hard seat made her feel even more frightened. She repeatedly asked where they were going and whether Grant was safe. The officer only promised that she would understand soon. Then her phone buzzed. It was a message from her eldest son, Mark: “Mom, please don’t panic. Just trust us.” Linda couldn’t understand how her children knew something was happening while leaving her alone for hours. She typed an angry reply, but nobody responded.

As the cruiser traveled through familiar streets, Linda noticed the officer seemed to know Grant personally. When she questioned him, he finally admitted that he did. Her fear grew. Then the car turned into the parking lot of Kingsland Community Center, a place where Linda had spent countless weekends watching her children play sports and perform at school events. Outside stood all five of her other children’s vehicles. She stared through the window, confused and terrified. Why were they all there? And why had nobody bothered to tell her?