Zaden nodded. My throat was dry. Whatever was on that phone, my son was brave enough to bring it here. I looked at him, really looked at him, and I saw something that broke me wide open. He wasn’t just scared; he was standing up for himself, for me, for the truth.

The judge finally pressed play, and nothing was ever the same again.

People always ask why I stayed with Damian for as long as I did. Love isn’t always a straight line; sometimes it’s a knot you get tangled in so slowly you don’t even feel it tightening. We met when I was 22. He was confident, funny, the kind of man who filled a room. I didn’t realize back then that some people only see you so they can find the right place to break you.