She wanted a chronology, copies of messages, medical records properly requested, and a careful separation between what I’d seen and what I’d inferred.

“You are free to set boundaries,” she said.

“You do not have to prove a crime before you decide someone cannot supervise your child.”

I asked whether writing to my mother would make things worse.

“Keep any communication factual and brief.

Better yet, let counsel handle questions involving the investigation.”

So I wrote one sentence I never sent: I asked you to keep them safe.

It lived in the notes on my phone for weeks.