“If you call them… I—my mom’s at home,” he said, the words tumbling out. “She’s sick, I need to get back, I wasn’t trying to—please—” His hands started shaking. His knees felt weak. Everything was slipping.
“Or,” a voice cut in, calm and steady, “we could just check the cameras first.”
Both of them turned. A man stood a few feet away. Casual. Unbothered. Like he’d been watching the whole time.
The manager frowned. “This doesn’t concern you.”
“Maybe not,” the man said with a small shrug. “But if you’re about to call the cops, you might want to be sure first.” He nodded toward the ceiling. “You’ve got cameras, right?”
