“I STOLED IT!” she cried, the words bursting out as if they’d been trapped in her chest. “I STOLED THE SHINY!”
The father blinked. “The… shiny?”
The mother’s eyes widened like she’d been slapped by a memory. “Oh my—”
Marcus steadied his voice. “Okay. The shiny. What shiny did you take?”
The girl’s face scrunched with guilt. “Mommy’s shiny. The circle.”
A ring, Marcus realized.
The father’s mouth fell open. “Wait. Honey… do you mean Mommy’s ring?”
The little girl nodded hard, tears spilling down. “I took it. I took it! I’m sorry! I’m sorry!”
The mother made a strangled sound, half laugh and half sob. “We’ve been looking everywhere.”
The father stared at his daughter like he didn’t know whether to hug her or run a victory lap. “She—she heard us talking about it.”
The mother covered her mouth with both hands, eyes glossy. “We never accused her. We thought it fell down the sink.”
The girl shook her head wildly, as if the truth needed to be louder. “I put it… in my place.”
Marcus kept his tone calm. “Thank you for telling the truth. That took courage.”
But the girl heard only one word.
“Jail?” she asked, voice tiny now.
