It is the single most important thing a parent can say to a child who has been made to feel like the cause of her own harm, and it cannot be said too early, or too often, or too plainly.

You did nothing wrong.

I say it to her still.

Chapter 4 — Total Calm

I unmuted the phone.

Blake was still going, still lecturing me about my hysteria, my exhaustion, my martyrdom.

“I know Danielle is there with you, Blake,” I said, cutting straight through it.

My voice dropped into a register I did not entirely recognize — low, even, and absolutely without fear.