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

Over the next weeks, everything moved slower than I expected, but also more clearly.

There were appointments, conversations, forms, follow-ups, each one adding structure to something that had felt chaotic.

Travis was charged. The process moved forward without drama, just paperwork and dates and statements repeated carefully.

I told the truth every time, even when it made me sound like I had waited too long, even when it was uncomfortable.