“DAD… MY BACK HU.RTS SO BAD I CAN’T SLEEP. MOM TOLD ME NOT TO TELL YOU.”

everything.

Not Is she okay?
Not I’m sorry.
Just: What did she say?

“She told the truth,” I said.

And I hung up.

The weeks that followed were messy and heavy.

Doctors. Social workers. Court hearings.

Sophie stayed with me.

Marina denied everything at first—then minimized it, then blamed stress, then blamed me for being away too much.

But the evidence didn’t continue reading …