“Dad… My Back Hurts So Bad I Can’t Sleep. Mom Told Me Not to Tell You.” I Had Just Walked In From a Business Trip

I was not in the room.

That nearly killed me.

A detective explained why.

“We want her account in her own words, without a parent reacting beside her.”

I understood professionally.

Emotionally?

Terrible.

I sat in a waiting room looking at a wooden puzzle missing one piece.