Jacob rubbed his forehead.
“My daughter was supposed to attend art club after school. Yesterday, I went to pick her up before an appointment, and she wasn’t there.”
His voice shook with anger.
“I checked the art room. I checked the library. Nobody knew where she was. I spent twenty minutes searching the school before somebody finally told me she’d been backstage in the auditorium.”
I turned toward Ethan.
“You helped Lily hide where she was going?”
He looked miserable.
“Yes.”
“Ethan!”
“I know.”
Jacob stepped forward.
“She’s undergoing treatment. I need to know where she is. I need to know who is responsible for her safety.”
His anger was understandable, but I could also hear something else beneath it.
Fear.
He wasn’t simply angry that Lily had attended an activity without telling him.
He was terrified that something might happen to her when he wasn’t there.
Mr. Harrison explained that Lily had general permission to participate in certain after-school activities. The drama teacher and school nurse had checked that her backstage duties were within her current limitations.
