Chapter 1 - The Phone Call
The phone vibrated in my palm like a live wire.
David’s name on the caller ID used to bring me comfort. Now, it made my stomach churn. I swiped accept and pressed the phone to my ear, my other hand gently stroking Chloe’s hair as she whimpered into my neck.
"What the hell is wrong with you, Rachel?!" David’s voice exploded through the speaker. He wasn't in a conference room; I could hear the background noise of a hotel bar. "My mother just called me crying hysterically! Did you seriously put your hands on an elderly woman?"
Not, Is our daughter okay? Not, What happened?
"Your mother slapped your two-year-old daughter across the face," I said, my voice eerily calm. "She made her bleed, David. Over a piece of pizza."
"Oh, come on!" David scoffed, the sound dripping with patronizing disbelief. "Mom said she just tapped her hand to discipline her and Chloe tripped. You’re always exaggerating when it comes to my family. And then you cancelled her surgery insurance?! Are you insane? Call them back and reinstate it right now. I have to go back to my meetings."
He didn't believe me. Or worse, he didn't care.
"No," I said softly.
"Excuse me?"
May you like
"I'm not calling them back. And you don't need to rush home from your 'meetings,' David." I hung up the phone.
I looked around the master bedroom. I had spent four years trying to build a sanctuary for a man who would always choose his mother’s lies over his daughter's safety. The clarity that washed over me was absolute. I wasn't going to argue. I wasn't going to cry. I was going to pack.
