My four-year-old daughter, Emma, stood completely still for a moment—then suddenly rushed toward the pastor, shouting something that brought the entire room into stunned silence.

My God, how I trusted.

Emma continued speaking through tears, stumbling over her words, but speaking nonetheless.

—Grandma was on the phone, saying that after that everything would be alright. That you weren’t going to send anyone else.

Trevor let out a strange sound, a kind of muffled growl, as if a part of him was finally beginning to recognize the full picture of the monster he had protected all his life.

“Who was he talking to?” the pastor asked.

Emma denied it again.