Chapter 5
The officers separated us.
I stayed in the kitchen with Lily and Officer Grant.
Daniel and Madison were in the living room with Officer Lewis.
Lily sat on my lap even though she was too big for it now.
I did not care.
She held her stuffed bunny against her chest.
Officer Grant asked gently, “Did Madison hurt you today?”
Lily looked at me.
I nodded.
“You can tell the truth.”
“She pulled me.”
“Why?”
Lily swallowed.
“She said I had to practice listening because she was going to be in charge.”
My stomach clenched.
“What else?”
Lily’s voice dropped.
“She said if I cried, Daddy would send me away faster.”
I closed my eyes.
Officer Grant wrote it down.
“And where did Daddy say you were going?”
“To Madison’s apartment.”
“For how long?”
Lily shrugged.
“Until Mommy stopped being difficult.”
My daughter was six.
Six.
And my husband had wrapped adult betrayal around her like a rope.
Officer Grant looked at me.
“Do you have somewhere safe to go tonight?”
“This is my house.”
His expression softened.
“I understand. But can Daniel access weapons? Does he have keys? Can Madison return?”
My mouth went dry.
The house I had decorated.
The house where Lily learned to walk.
The house where Daniel had let his mistress grab our child.
May you like
It was not safe just because my name was on the deed.
“My sister Nora,” I said. “We can go to Nora.”
