Chapter 1 - The Broadcasted Cry
Leo’s blue t-shirt clung to his damp chest as he sprinted past the manicured lawns of Oakridge Lane. The autumn air bit at his lungs, but the physical burn was nothing compared to the searing panic in his chest. In the background, his mother, Sarah, walked in stunned silence, flanked by two uniformed police officers whose heavy boots crunched steadily against the pavement. A police cruiser idled near the curb, its red and blue lights painting the brick houses in an unnatural, throbbing pulse.
Leo stopped dead on the sidewalk. He looked directly into the camera lens of the digital device left spinning on a neighbor's retaining wall, his big hazel eyes swimming in tears. His messy light brown hair was matted to his forehead, and his cheeks were stained with streaks of dust and salt.
"My mommy is innocent!" Leo screamed, his voice cracking with raw, unvarnished terror.
From behind the boy, Officer Miller stepped forward, his face hardening. "Leo, stop this right now. You are interfering with an active investigation. Turn that phone off."
"No!" Leo yelled, pivoting to face the officer with trembling lips. "You’re making a mistake! She didn't do anything!"
"Leo, listen to me," Sarah called out, her voice breaking. She wore a simple black top, her dark hair pulled back neatly, but the handcuffs locked around her wrists told a grim story. "Don't fight them. Just go home."
"I won't let them take you!" Leo sobbed, pressing his small hands together in a desperate prayer gesture. He looked right back into the lens, tears streaming down his face. "Please save my mommy by like, follow, comment!"
"Kid, that's enough," the second officer warned, reaching out a heavy hand to grab the phone.
Leo dodged the officer’s grasp, clutching the device to his chest as he stared up with deep emotional distress. "Please, please help me!" he whispered, his voice catching in his throat as the live-stream counter in the corner of the screen ticked past one million views.
May you like
Miller reached out and firmly snatched the phone from Leo's hands, killing the broadcast mid-stream just as a breaking news notification flashed across the screen for every viewer in the tri-state area.
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