PART 3: The Secret Underground
Ava slowly lifted her head, tears streaming down her pale cheeks. “I didn’t steal anything, Mom! I swear I didn’t!”
“Then why were you at that salon, Ava?” the lead officer demanded, placing his hands on his belt. “We found your school ID dropped right outside their back exit.”
“Because of the owner!” Ava sobbed, her voice ringing across the office. “He runs an illegal hair-harvesting ring! He pays kids from school under the table to bring in high-value hair, but when I saw what he was doing behind the shop, I tried to leave. He took my hair by force and locked me in the back room!”
The room fell into a stunned silence. The officers exchanged a sharp, sudden look as the context of the investigation shifted instantly.
“He cut my hair against my will,” Ava whispered, pulling back her hoodie to reveal jagged, uneven marks near her scalp that were hidden before. “I grabbed those shears off the counter to break the latch on the back window and escape. The wig I gave you… I bought it from a classmate weeks ago with money I saved from my weekend job.”
What would the police do next? Continue reading Part 4 below for the confrontation.
