My four-year-old son called me at work, crying: ‘Daddy, Mommy’s boyfriend hit me with a baseball bat-YILUX

Behind me, I heard Lena inhale sharply, like someone hearing the sound of a bridge giving way beneath their own feet.

I did not turn around immediately. I just stood, gathered Noah carefully into my arms, and started toward the exit.

Noah fell asleep in the car before we even left the hospital parking lot, his head tilted awkwardly against the seatbelt, his breathing uneven but finally steady.