I couldn’t breathe properly.
I didn’t know what video Harper might have.
I didn’t know what I had seen. All I knew was that my daughter had been quieter than usual for weeks, more observant, as if she had learned to keep something to herself that she couldn’t express in words.
And suddenly I realized that this silence was not resignation.
It was protection.
The judge looked at Harper.
—I want to see that video. But first I need you to tell me one thing: why did you save it?
Harper swallowed. Her fingers were still gripping the tablet as if it were a plank in the middle of the sea.
—Because I thought if I showed it to Mom, she’d cry again. And I didn’t want her to cry anymore because of Dad.
The entire room remained silent.
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