Chapter 4
Two police officers arrived forty minutes later.
A woman named Officer Chen.
A man named Officer Rodriguez.
They were professional.
Kind.
They sat in the kitchen with Sarah and me.
I told them everything again.
Sarah showed them the photos she had taken of Rosie's injuries.
Close-ups.
Clear.
Irrefutable.
The officers' faces hardened as they looked at the pictures.
"Can we speak to your daughter?" Officer Chen asked.
"She's asleep," I said. "And she's scared."
"I understand," Officer Chen said. "We can wait until morning. Or we can have a child specialist come in the morning. Someone who knows how to talk to kids her age."
"That would be better," Sarah said.
The officers nodded.
"We'll need to file a report," Officer Rodriguez said. "And we'll need to go speak to your family. Get their side of the story."
My stomach tightened.
"They'll lie," I said.
"They always do," Officer Chen said. "But we've seen this before. The evidence usually speaks for itself."
She looked at the photos again.
"And these speak very loudly."
They gave us their card.
They told us to call if we needed anything.
If my family showed up.
If anything happened.
Then they left.
Sarah and I sat in the quiet kitchen.
The coffee was cold.
"What now?" I asked.
Sarah reached across the table and took my hand.
"Now we wait," she said. "And we protect our daughter."
I looked at her.
Really looked at her.
We had been married for five years.
We had loved each other.
But life had gotten in the way.
Work.
Stress.
Rosie had been our only point of agreement.
And now, in this moment, I felt something I hadn't felt in a long time.
Gratitude.
And something else.
Something I didn't want to name.
"Thank you," I said.
Sarah squeezed my hand.
"She's my daughter too," she said.
I nodded.
I knew that.
But it still meant everything.
I stood up.
"I should check on Rosie," I said.
"I'll get some blankets for the couch," Sarah said. "You can stay here tonight."
"Are you sure?"
"Of course," she said. "We're family."
That word.
Family.
It tasted bitter now.
But with Sarah, it felt different.
True.
I went to the spare bedroom.
Rosie was still asleep.
Her face was peaceful now.
The bruise looked even worse in the dim light.
I sat on the edge of the bed.
I watched her chest rise and fall.
I thought about my parents.
My sister.
How had they become like this?
When had love turned to cruelty?
I remembered being a kid.
Bethany had always been the favorite.
The golden child.
She could do no wrong.
And I... I was the disappointment.
The quiet one.
The one who cared too much.
My mother had always said I was too sensitive.
"Men don't cry," she would say.
My father had never said much at all.
Except when he was angry.
Then he said everything.
And Bethany...
She had learned from the best.
She had learned that cruelty was power.
That other people's feelings didn't matter.
That she could do whatever she wanted.
And everyone would let her.
But not this time.
Not with my daughter.
I leaned down and kissed Rosie's forehead.
"I'll never let anyone hurt you again," I whispered.
May you like
She smiled in her sleep.
Somehow, I think she heard me.
