Chapter 6 - The Golden Cage
The man pointed to his badge, his face etched with weary lines that didn't match the predatory brightness of the social media managers Lily had seen online. ""My name is Officer Miller,"" he said, keeping his voice quiet and low so as not to draw attention. ""Your video caught the attention of our department. But it also caught the attention of someone else.""
""My mom told us to leave,"" Lily said, her voice trembling but steady enough to convey defiance. ""We don't need help. We have food.""
""Your mother didn't leave because of the rent, Lily,"" Miller replied, glancing warily around the terminal. ""She left because the man she ran away from five years ago runs a digital media syndicate. He’s been looking for you two since Mia was an infant. That viral clip gave him your exact coordinates in high definition.""
The air left Lily’s chest in a sharp gasp. Stories her mother used to whisper late at night suddenly snapped into horrifying focus: warnings never to let strangers take pictures, never to participate in school photo days, never to give real names at doctor visits. Lily’s desperate attempt to feed her sister had shattered five years of invisible survival in less than twelve seconds.
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""I can put you in emergency protective custody,"" Miller offered, crouching to their eye level. ""A safe house outside state lines. But once the paperwork starts, the state takes control. You won't be allowed to leave until you're eighteen.""
Mia tugged at Lily's sleeve, coughing softly—a dry, wheezing cough that signaled her inhaler was running low. Lily looked at Miller, then down at the screen in her pocket. It was vibrating continuously. A direct message popped up from an unlisted account: “We see you at the bus terminal, Lily. Tell Miller to look at the ceiling.”
