Because there it was.
The truth.
He had not been blind.
He had chosen the easier lie.
“My mother called CPS on you,” he whispered.
The room tilted.
Rachel’s face remained still, which told me she already knew.
“When?”
“Last week.”
My fingers went cold.
“What did she say?”
“That Emma was dirty. Underfed. Afraid of you. That you slept all day and left her alone.”
I could not speak.
Detective Kim placed a folder on the table.
“The report was anonymous, but we have reason to believe Diane made it. It was not substantiated. The caseworker who came by noted Emma appeared unusually sleepy, but Diane told her Emma was recovering from a cold.”
I remembered that visit.
A woman from the building office had supposedly come to check a leak.
Diane had insisted I looked exhausted and should shower while she answered the door.
I had not even known CPS had been in my home.
My throat closed.
“You let her answer the door?”
Andrés looked confused.
“I wasn’t home.”
Of course he wasn’t.
He was always at work when Diane performed her best damage.
I stood up.
I needed air.
I needed space.
