“Sir, are you Marcus Thompson? Ainsley’s father?”
“Yes…” My voice cracked. “What happened? Is she okay?”
The older officer, a tall Black man with kind eyes, exchanged a glance with his partner before speaking.
“Sir… do you even have any idea what your daughter has done?”
I felt the ground tilt beneath me. My mind raced through every worst-case scenario. Accident. Arrest. Something terrible.
The officer continued, his voice softening.
“You deserve to know. May we come in?”
I let them inside. They sat down, and the younger officer pulled out a tablet.
“Ainsley Thompson isn’t in trouble, Mr. Thompson. Far from it. Tonight, after graduation, she didn’t just go out to celebrate with friends. She had something bigger planned.”
He turned the tablet toward me.
