I got my feet under me, gasping. Walter was right there. He didn’t draw his fist back. He drove the heel of his palm forward into my stomach.

It wasn’t meant to knock me down. It was meant to establish that he could. The air went out of me in a ragged rush. The room fell into a ringing silence.

My hands flew to my belly and my whole body curled inward around my daughter.

“Hit her again,” Lorraine said.

“Mom, stop!” Corey finally shouted, his voice cracking. But he didn’t move. He stood by the dining table and watched.

Walter took a half step forward.