Before sunrise, she took out the notebook she used for work and wrote one sentence across the first page: “I am allowed to believe what happened to me.”

Then, beneath it, she recorded the date, the time, and every word she could remember from breakfast.

PART 4

The next morning, Iris called attorney Celia Navarro, whose name the hospital social worker had included among local legal resources.

Celia met her by video because Iris’s face was still painful and she didn’t want to travel across town.

Celia didn’t promise immediate justice.

She asked about safety, finances, the apartment deed, previous incidents, and whether Garrett had access to important accounts.