Chapter 1: The Oven
The summer sun in Texas didn’t just shine; it oppressed. It bore down on the roof of the two-story suburban house on Maple Street with the weight of a physical object. Inside, the air conditioning hummed, but not in the kitchen. The vents there had been closed.
“To save energy,” Margaret had said, her lips pursed in that way that meant no arguments would be tolerated.
Seven-year-old Ella Parker knelt on the ceramic tiles. They were hard, unforgiving, and cold against her bruised knees, yet the air around her was sweltering. Sweat matted her blonde hair to her forehead, stinging her eyes with salt.
