I could have handled it quietly.

I want to be honest about that, because a part of me, the part the Army had trained, argued for it even in the moment: I could have walked Pamela into a side room, ended things privately, spared everyone the scene, protected all the adults’ dignity, and driven home with my daughter, and the outcome for our family would have been exactly the same.

Pamela would still have been gone.

Hannah would still have been safe.