And not one of them — not a single one — asked whether our daughter was okay.

Not one asked about the red mark on her face, or whether she had cried, or whether she was frightened, or whether she was hurt.

Thirteen messages about his mother, and the family image, and the guests, and the wrong idea.

Zero messages about the two-year-old.

I typed a single reply. The wrong idea is that this was the first time you failed her. And before I could send it, another message arrived — from Luca’s cousin, Kelly, who had been across the table filming the birthday candles. I think you need to see the whole video.

Chapter 7 — The Whole Video