After drop-off, my son’s teacher asked, “Why is your son absent today?”

She had a calm voice and kind eyes. She explained that she was here to make sure Theo was safe and had what he needed. She asked if we could sit down and talk through what happened.

I invited her inside while Theo went to wash up and change clothes. My apartment is small but clean with two bedrooms, a kitchen with a breakfast bar, and a living room with a couch and TV. Naelli walked through each room taking notes on her tablet.

She checked that Theo had his own bedroom with a bed and dresser. She opened the refrigerator and pantry to see what food we had. She looked at the bathroom to make sure it was clean and had supplies.

Then she sat down at the kitchen table and asked me questions about our normal routine. She wanted to know about Theo’s school attendance before this incident. I showed her his report cards and attendance records showing he had perfect attendance until 3 weeks ago.

She asked about my work schedule and childcare arrangements. I explained that I work second shift at a warehouse and that Theo stays with a neighbor after school until I get home. Naelli asked to see my paystubs and lease agreement.

I pulled out a folder I keep with all my important documents. She photographed everything with her tablet. She also asked for character references.

I gave her the phone numbers for two of Theo’s previous teachers and our downstairs neighbor who watches him sometimes. Theo came back into the kitchen wearing clean clothes and looking a bit better. Naelli asked him some gentle questions about how he was feeling and if he felt safe at home with me.

Theo nodded and said yes. After about an hour Naelli closed her tablet and looked at both of us. She explained that she was creating an emergency safety plan rather than removing Theo from my care.

The plan included no contact between Theo and Maya, Derek, or Uncle Mike except through supervised channels approved by CPS. Theo would need to start therapy to address the trauma. CPS would make unannounced home visits to monitor the situation.

Naelli emphasized that I did the right thing by immediately removing Theo from danger and cooperating with authorities. She said that made a huge difference in her assessment. Before she left, Naelli pulled out a business card for a child therapy center.

She scheduled Theo for an interview at the child advocacy center for tomorrow morning at 9:00. She explained that this was a child-friendly facility where trained specialists would take his statement about what happened. She said the interview would be recorded and shared with law enforcement and prosecutors so Theo would not have to testify multiple times.

I was allowed to be present in the waiting room but not during the actual interview. Naelli said this was standard procedure for cases involving child abuse or exploitation. She packed up her things and reminded me she would be making unannounced visits then she left.

About an hour later Detective Price called my cell phone. He said they had secured the construction site and collected extensive evidence. The evidence included work logs, time sheets, vehicle records, and security footage from the site showing Theo working over multiple days.

He said Uncle Mike’s company records showed several other workers who might be underage which could expand the investigation significantly. Detective Price also warned me that Maya and Derek had lawyered up quickly. He said I should expect this to get more complicated before it got better.

He told me not to have any contact with them and to forward any messages they sent to him immediately. I thanked him and hung up. Theo was already asleep on the couch with the TV playing quietly.

I covered him with a blanket and sat down in the chair across from him. Tomorrow we had the interview at the Child Advocacy Center then probably more meetings with CPS and police. Court hearings would come eventually but right now Theo was home and safe and that was enough for tonight.

I grabbed my phone and called Principal Miles right then even though it was past 8:00 p.m. He answered on the third ring and I didn’t waste time with small talk. I told him Theo was home safe and that police were involved.

Then I asked him point blank how those forged permission slips were accepted without anyone calling me directly to check. There was a long pause before he admitted their contact verification process had serious gaps. He explained that the office staff was supposed to call parents for early dismissals but they relied on the contact information in the system which in my case was outdated.

The permission slips looked official and had what appeared to be my signature so no one questioned them. Principal Miles sounded tired and genuinely upset as he told me the district was launching an internal review of their security and communication protocols. He promised they would cooperate fully with the investigation and implement immediate changes to prevent this from happening to another family.

I thanked him but made it clear I was still angry about how this slipped through for three whole weeks. After I hung up I checked on Theo again. He was still asleep on the couch with his face peaceful for the first time all day.

I was just thinking about waking him to move him to his bed when I heard a knock at the door. It was 7:15 p.m. I looked through the peephole and saw Naelli standing there with her tablet.

She smiled slightly when I opened the door and reminded me about the unannounced visits she’d mentioned earlier. I let her in and she spent the next hour watching our evening routine. I helped Theo with some of the homework he’d missed over the past 3 weeks including simple math problems that he worked through slowly.

Naelli sat quietly at the kitchen table taking notes on her tablet while we went through fractions and word problems. Then I made us dinner, nothing fancy just pasta and sauce with some frozen vegetables. Theo picked at his food but ate more than I expected.