My husband pushed me down the stairs, and as I lay shattered at the bottom, my mother-in-law called my father and said, “Come get your worthless daughter and take her back.” Dad gave her only one warning: “If she has so much as a scratch, your family will answer for it.” They laughed at him because they had absolutely no idea who my father truly was.

Then I remembered the time Martin had pinned a door shut while I stood on the other side asking to leave.

Another evening, he had taken my car keys because he said I was hysterical.

I had called those arguments.

Now they sounded like warnings.

Ortiz explained that the criminal investigation would be separate from custody proceedings.

Nothing about Martin’s wealth, she said, guaranteed a particular outcome.

She would request relevant records and speak with witnesses.

In the meantime, she asked whether I needed help making a safety plan.