“You’ll regret turning this into a police matter.”

“Sadie nearly lost an ovary because nobody took her pain seriously.”

“That doctor has been filling your head with nonsense.”

I waited.

I thought he might finally say he was scared, that he’d made a terrible judgment, that he wanted to see our daughter.

Instead he said, “You better not tell them anything else about the clinic.”

The call ended, and I sat completely still.

He had given me the clearest answer of all: his greatest fear was not what had happened to Sadie.