Emma

About the Job

Emma Monroe is the kind of teenager who appears completely unbothered—hoodie, pajama shorts, eyes glued to her phone, sarcasm always loaded and ready. But beneath the effortless attitude is a girl carrying an impossible weight. Intelligent, quick-witted, and fiercely independent, Emma refuses to let anyone make decisions for her, even when she's in over her head. She masks fear with humor and vulnerability with defiance, using sharp one-liners and teenage bravado to keep the world at a distance. Every conversation is a battle for control, especially with her estranged father. What begins as a familiar father-daughter argument gradually reveals itself to be something much darker. Emma spends most of the story trying to convince herself she's in control, only to discover that danger is far closer than she imagined. When confronted with real violence, her carefully constructed armor shatters, exposing the frightened seventeen-year-old beneath the bravado.