A woman with a shopping cart paused in the parking lot, noticing the boy. Her brow furrowed as she shaded her eyes from the sun. “Hey… is that kid okay?” she murmured to herself.
Tyler waved desperately. His tiny voice cracked. “Help! Please! I’m stuck!”
Inside the store, Jason and Karen were too far gone in their argument to hear the faint cries outside. Every second that passed in that blazing minivan made Tyler’s skin prickle, his chest tighten, and panic claw at him.
It was the summer of 2026, and Maple Grove had already logged record heat. The thermometer outside the store read 103 degrees. For Tyler, trapped inside the van, it felt like being inside an oven, with no one to notice, no one to save him.
Part 2 — The Rescue and the Confrontation
