Chapter 3 – Choosing the Children
The following morning, I contacted a family attorney and a licensed child psychologist.
I also informed Lena that she would be staying elsewhere while professionals assessed the situation.
She stared at me in disbelief.
"You're choosing them over your own wife?"
I answered without hesitation.
"I'm choosing the children's safety."
She laughed bitterly.
"They've manipulated you."
"No."
"I failed to notice what was happening."
"That's on me."
She packed two suitcases that afternoon.
Neither Ethan nor my daughter came downstairs while she left.
When the front door closed, the entire house felt different.
Not happier.
Safer.
Over the next several months, the children attended counseling.
At first they spoke very little.
Then they began laughing again.
Small moments returned.
Board games after dinner.
Saturday pancakes.
Movie nights with blankets spread across the living-room floor.
The basement door remained open.
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Eventually, we turned the space into a playroom filled with books, art supplies, and music.
The room that had once held fear slowly became a place where new memories could grow.
