Instead I wrote a boundary letter with Julian’s guidance: No visits or direct contact with Maya or Liam.

No access to our home or funds.

Any future conversation would require acknowledgment of what happened and Maya’s voluntary agreement.

It contained no insults and no invitation to negotiate the baby’s safety.

Sending that letter felt less satisfying than shouting would have.

It also gave us a foundation we could live with after the anger faded.

PART 17
Maya’s recovery was uneven, and I learned not to turn every good day into an expectation.

Some mornings she walked to the corner café.