Chapter 2
I stared at the page until the letters blurred.
My mother’s name sat beside Diane’s like a knife laid neatly on white paper.
Carol Bennett.
My mom.
The woman who packed my lunches.
The woman who held my hand when I got my first heartbreak.
The woman who cried when I told her I was pregnant.
“No,” I whispered.
Dad’s jaw tightened.
“She signed this.”
Ryan stepped closer.
“Emily, listen.”
I backed away so fast Dad caught my arm.
“Don’t touch her,” he said.
Diane lifted her chin.
“Carol understands what Emily refuses to accept. A young mother under stress can make dangerous choices.”
I looked at her.
“You put me in a kennel.”
“You were hysterical.”
“I became hysterical after your son dragged me across the yard.”
Sirens sounded in the distance.
Ryan’s face drained.
Dad took off his jacket and wrapped it around my shoulders.
“Are you hurting?”
“My hip. My stomach feels tight.”
His calm broke.
“Sit down.”
Diane snatched at the papers again.
Dad moved faster and tucked them under his arm.
“If you touch these, I will make sure the police add evidence tampering.”
She glared at him.
“You have no idea what is happening here.”
“I know enough.”
The ambulance arrived first.
The paramedics checked my blood pressure, my pulse, the baby’s movement.
When one asked if I felt safe at home, Ryan answered for me.
“She’s fine.”
Dad turned slowly.
“She will answer.”
I looked at the paramedic.
“No,” I said. “I do not feel safe.”
Ryan flinched like I had slapped him.
Good.
Police arrived while I was being helped onto a stretcher.
Dad handed over the forged guardianship papers.
Diane began crying.
Ryan claimed it was a misunderstanding.
I looked at the officer and said, “My husband locked me in a kennel while I’m eight months pregnant.”
The officer’s face hardened.
“And the papers?”
“I never signed them.”
As they loaded me into the ambulance, I saw Ryan handcuffed on our lawn.
Diane screamed his name.
But I was staring at the signature.
May you like
My mother’s.
And I realized the kennel was only the beginning.
