My Daughter Begged Me Not to Get Off the Bus—Minutes Later, My Boyfriend Sent a Photo of My Deed Beside a Contract I Had Never Signed

“Derek was in my bedroom.”

My hand stopped on the strap of my bag.

“What was he doing?”

“Standing near my closet.

Talking on his phone.”

I did not put words into her mouth.

I did not suggest what he might have been doing there.

I needed to hear what she remembered, not what my fear could build around it.