She helped me file for a protective order.
My sister Hannah flew in from Nashville.
The moment she saw me, she cried.
Then she became angry.
“Why didn’t you tell me?”
I looked away.
“I was embarrassed.”
“Of what?”
“That I stayed.”
Hannah sat beside me.
“You’re here now.”
That was all she said.
No lecture.
No judgment.
Just:
You’re here now.
On the third afternoon, Melissa entered.
“You have visitors.”
My stomach tightened.
“Who?”
“Your husband and his parents.”
Hannah stood.
“They can leave.”
I looked at Rebecca.
She had arrived twenty minutes earlier.
She understood immediately.
“Do you want them admitted?”
I thought about the recording.
About Nathan’s confidence.
About the years he had controlled every conversation.
“Yes.”
I said.
“But security stays outside.”
Melissa nodded.
Nathan entered first.
He wore a navy sweater.
