“Emily, I need to check if you have any bruises. Can you show me where Olivia hit you?” David asked, fighting past the lump in his throat. Emily, looking embarrassed, nodded and slowly rolled up the sleeves of her dress.
David barely managed to suppress a gasp of horror. There, on her delicate skin, were unmistakable finger marks. Some were fading into a sickly yellow, while others were fresh, angry purple contusions. “Oh my God,” David whispered, his stomach churning violently at the visual proof.
“Emily, do you have any other bruises?” She nodded silently and lifted the hem of her dress to reveal her legs. There were marks there too, some clearly outlining the shape of a gripping hand. David closed his eyes tightly, trying to manage the tidal wave of guilt and fury threatening to drown him.
When he opened them, he found Emily watching him with fear. “Dad, are you mad?” she asked, her voice shaking. “Not at you, sweetheart. Never at you. I’m furious at Olivia for hurting you, and at myself for not seeing it sooner.”
He knelt before her, taking her small hands in his. “This is not your fault, do you understand?” “I know, Dad. Olivia is just really good at pretending. She always looks different when you’re around,” Emily said, displaying a wisdom far beyond her years. The realization hit David hard as he replayed memories of the past few months.
Olivia had always seemed the picture of patience and kindness. How could he have been so catastrophically blind? “Emily, I need you to tell me everything Olivia does when I’m not here. Can you do that for me?” Emily hesitated, fear flickering across her face again.
“When you leave for work, she changes. She turns cold. She says I’m a burden, that I ruined her life by existing here.” Emily took a deep, shuddering breath. “And she says other things too.” “What else does she say?” David pressed gently, forcing his voice to remain even. “She says I’m dumb, that I’m good for nothing, and that you don’t really love me—that’s why you work such long hours.”
Emily’s voice began to wobble, and David felt a physical pain in his chest, a tightness that made it hard to breathe. “That is a lie, Emily. I love you more than anything in this world. You are my priority.” Emily nodded, but David knew that Olivia’s poisonous words had cut deep grooves into his daughter’s self-esteem. “When was the last time she hit you?”
Emily thought for a moment. “Yesterday. You came home late. I was watching TV waiting for you, but she got mad. She grabbed my arm, pushed me into my room, and told me to go to sleep.”
David closed his eyes, recalling the previous evening with painful clarity. He had come home exhausted. Olivia had greeted him with a warm smile, claiming Emily was already asleep. He had peeked into her room, kissed her sleeping form, and left, never suspecting she was feigning sleep to avoid confrontation. “Emily, is there anything else? Even if it seems small.”
She pondered for a few seconds. “Sometimes, when you’re on duty, she invites her friends over. They drink wine and talk really loud. Once, I woke up thirsty and went to the kitchen, but she got so mad. She grabbed me by the hair and locked me back in my room. She said if I came out again, she’d lock me in the closet all night.”
The anger inside David solidified into cold, hard resolve. How could Olivia threaten a child like that? How could she be a complete stranger to the woman he thought he loved? “Emily, you were incredibly brave to tell me all this. I promise I will handle this. Olivia will never hurt you again.”
“Okay.” Emily’s look was a heartbreaking mix of fragile hope and lingering terror. “Do you promise, Dad?” she asked tearfully. “I promise. From this moment on, everything changes.” He hugged her fiercely, feeling the tremors in her small body. Just then, the metallic scrape of a key in the front door froze them both.
Emily clung to him, her grip tightening painfully. “It’s Olivia!” she whispered, panic saturating her voice. David looked deep into her eyes. “Don’t worry. I won’t let her touch you.” Emily nodded, her wide, frightened eyes swiveling toward the hallway.
David stood up just as Olivia breezed into the room. “Hi, family!” Her voice was bright, cheerful, ringing out through the tense atmosphere. She balanced a shopping bag in one hand and her purse in the other.
Her radiant smile faltered slightly as she registered David’s stony expression. “Did something happen?” she asked, lowering the bags to the floor. “We need to talk, Olivia,” David said, his tone calm but laced with steel.
Olivia furrowed her brow, shooting a quick, confused glance at Emily, who was watching them with trepidation. “Sweetheart, why don’t you go to your room? I need to speak to Olivia alone.” Emily looked at him with concern but obeyed, slipping off the couch.
David watched closely as Emily gave Olivia a wide berth, skirting around her as if she were radioactive. As soon as the bedroom door clicked shut, he turned his full attention to Olivia, who now looked genuinely unsettled. “David, you’re scaring me! What is going on?”
He took a stabilizing breath. “Emily told me some things. Things that disturb me deeply.” Olivia blinked rapidly, her expression cycling through emotions as she processed his words…
