Ortega drew a physical folder from her desk, and showed me a financial hardship application.

Under the line for family income, someone had written: No regular financial contribution from father. And at the bottom of the form was my mother’s signature.

In that single second, I understood that I had not come to Austin to discipline my daughter.

I had come to discover who had spent five years starving my child while convincing her that her own father had abandoned her.

Chapter 5 — She May Be Afraid of You