Chapter 1
I was seven when I came home from school and saw Dad hitting Mom with his belt—and the call I made next changed our family forever.
My backpack slipped from my shoulders.
Mom was curled beside the living-room couch, covering her arms.
Dad stood over her with his belt in his hand.
“Stop!” I screamed.
Both of them looked at me.
Mom’s face changed instantly.
“Emily, go upstairs!”
I ran toward her instead.
“Daddy, please don’t hurt Mommy!”
Dad shouted, “Stay out of this!”
I grabbed his arm with both hands.
“Please stop!”
He shoved me away.
I fell hard onto the floor.
Mom screamed my name.
She tried to reach me, but Dad turned back toward her.
I was terrified, but then I remembered the phone Grandpa had given me for emergencies.
I ran upstairs and locked my bedroom door.
My hands shook so badly I almost dropped it.
“Grandpa?”
The second he heard me crying, his voice changed.
“What happened, sweetheart?”
“Daddy is hurting Mommy.”
There was silence for one second.
Then Grandpa said, “Stay in your room. I’m coming.”
A few minutes later, I heard tires screech outside.
The front door flew open.
Grandpa rushed inside and saw Dad raising the belt again.
“What the hell are you doing to my daughter?”
Dad barely had time to turn around.
Grandpa charged at him and punched him across the face.
Dad crashed against the coffee table.
“Dad, stop!” Mom cried.
But Grandpa stood between them.
“You touch my daughter or granddaughter again, and I’m calling the police myself.”
Dad wiped blood from his lip and suddenly laughed.
“You really think Sarah is the victim here?”
Mom went completely pale.
Grandpa stared at her.
“What is he talking about?”
May you like
Dad pointed toward the locked drawer beneath the television.
“Ask your daughter what she’s been hiding in there for seven years.”
