Chapter 5 - THE FIRST CHILD-SAFETY INTERVIEWSophie did not reveal a monstrous hidden ritual.
She revealed something stranger.
Mark called the bathroom routine:
brave baths.
The interviewer asked:
“What is a brave bath?”
Sophie squeezed Bun-Bun.
“You drink calm medicine.”
“What happens next?”
“You wait.”
“Where?”
“On the tub.”
“What does Daddy do?”
“He makes the clock.”
“The timer?”
“Yes.”
“What happens while the clock goes?”
“I can’t leave.”
There.
“What happens if you leave?”
“Start again.”
“What happens in the bath?”
Sophie became quiet.
“Cold.”
My chest tightened.
“How cold?”
She shrugged.
“Cold cold.”
“Does Daddy get in?”
“No.”
“Does Daddy touch your body?”
The interviewer used careful, age-appropriate questions.
Sophie did not describe sexual touching.
That mattered.
She did describe Mark gripping her shoulders or arms to stop her climbing out.
She described having water poured over her head when she cried.
She described being made to sit through timed intervals.
Sometimes warm water.
Sometimes cooler.
Then the medicine.
“Why medicine?”
“Daddy says it makes my crying brain quiet.”
I closed my eyes.
May you like
Nothing sexual.
Still terrifying.
