Chapter 6
The first therapy session broke me.
Lily sat on the rug with toy animals while Dr. Marin asked questions.
No pressure.
No leading.
Just soft choices.
Lily picked a tiny puppy and wrapped ribbon around its neck.
My chest seized.
Dr. Marin asked, “What is happening to puppy?”
“Grandma says stay.”
“Does puppy like it?”
“No.”
“What does puppy need?”
Lily looked at me.
“Mommy.”
I covered my mouth.
Dr. Marin’s eyes softened.
“You came.”
“Yes,” I whispered.
Afterward, Dr. Marin told me Lily’s trauma could heal with stability, truth, and protection.
Protection.
Such a simple word.
Such an enormous failure.
I had trusted Ryan because marriage made me think trust was required.
Now I understood.
Trust without attention is a locked door you assume is safe until someone opens it from inside.
I filed for divorce.
Ryan fought immediately.
He claimed parental alienation.
He claimed Diane had dementia.
He claimed I planted the videos.
Then Detective Monroe found the original files backed up to Ryan’s cloud.
Metadata.
Dates.
Folder names.
Messages between Ryan and Diane.
One text from Diane said:
Make her look neglectful before the trust hearing.
Ryan replied:
Lily cries easily. We can use that.
I vomited in Ava’s bathroom after reading it.
May you like
Then I washed my face and sent the evidence to my lawyer.
I was done collapsing where they could see.
