Chương 9
“I know.”
“But hate?”
He shook his head.
“No.”
Sarah leaned against the wall.
“Why not?”
Daniel thought about the question.
Because there was no simple answer.
“Because hating you would make it easier to pretend I don’t care what happens to you.”
Sarah looked at him.
He continued.
“And I do care.”
Her eyes filled again.
“But caring doesn’t mean things go back.”
“I know.”
Daniel believed her.
That was the strange part.
He believed her.
Not because everything was fixed.
Because for once, she was not trying to fix it with words.
She was sitting with the consequences.
A knock came at the front door.
Both of them looked toward it.
Daniel’s body reacted before his mind did.
The old instinct.
Protect.
Prepare.
Sarah walked over and opened it.
A woman in her early fifties stood outside holding a folder.
She wore a dark jacket and had a calm expression that immediately made Daniel nervous.
“I’m looking for Daniel Mercer and Sarah Mercer.”
Daniel stepped forward.
“I’m Daniel.”
The woman nodded.
“My name is Linda Parker.”
She showed an identification card.
“I’m with child protective services.”
Sophia moved closer to Daniel.
The room changed instantly.
Sarah went pale.
Daniel felt his chest tighten.
This was the moment he had been afraid of.
Not because he believed he had done something wrong.
Because systems did not know people.
They knew reports.
Forms.
Statements.
Evidence.
“I’m here because a report was made regarding an incident involving Sophia yesterday,” Linda said.
Sarah looked down.
Daniel noticed.
She already knew this would happen.
Maybe she had expected it.
Maybe she had been afraid of it.
“Can we talk inside?” Linda asked.
Daniel stepped aside.
“Yeah.”
The woman entered and looked around briefly.
Not searching.
Observing.
That difference mattered.
She sat at the kitchen table.
“I want both of you to understand something,” she said.
“My role is not to punish anyone.”
Sarah swallowed.
“But?”
Linda opened her folder.
“But I do need to understand whether Sophia is safe.”
Daniel nodded.
“That’s fair.”
Linda looked at him.
“Were you present during the incident?”
“Yes.”
“Can you tell me what happened?”
Daniel looked at Sarah.
She did not avoid his eyes.
That surprised him.
He expected fear.
Defensiveness.
Maybe anger.
Instead, she nodded slightly.
Tell the truth.
So he did.
He explained finding Sophia outside.
The water.
The hospital.
The conversation afterward.
He did not exaggerate.
He did not add things to make Sarah look worse.
Linda listened carefully.
When Daniel finished, she turned to Sarah.
“Is there anything you disagree with?”
Sarah looked at her hands.
“No.”
The answer came quietly.
“I left my daughter outside when I was angry.”
Daniel watched Linda’s expression.
There was no satisfaction.
No judgment.
Just attention.
“Why?”
Sarah took a breath.
“Because I lost control.”
“Has this happened before?”
Sarah hesitated.
Daniel saw the moment.
The instinct to protect herself.
The desire to make the answer smaller.
Then she looked toward Sophia.
“No,” she said.
A second passed.
Then she corrected herself.
“Not the water.”
Linda waited.
“But I have sent her outside before.”
The room became silent.
Daniel felt Sophia’s hand tighten around his fingers.
Linda wrote something down.
“How many times?”
“I don’t know exactly.”
“Estimate.”
“Three or four.”
Daniel looked down.
Even knowing it, hearing it spoken aloud changed something.
Linda closed the folder halfway.
“Thank you for being honest.”
Sarah nodded.
“I don’t know if that helps.”
“It does.”
Linda looked at her.
“But honesty does not remove the concern.”
“I understand.”
The words sounded painful.
But steady.
Linda turned to Daniel.
“What are your plans for tonight?”
“Michael’s house.”
“Long term?”
Daniel shook his head.
“I don’t know.”
Linda nodded.
“That’s understandable.”
She looked toward Sophia.
“Can I speak with her privately for a few minutes?”
Daniel’s first instinct was no.
It came instantly.
Then he looked at Sophia.
He wanted to know what she needed.
Not what his fear needed.
“Sophia?”
The little girl looked at him.
“It’s okay.”
She nodded slowly.
Linda offered her a small smile.
“Would you like to show me your rabbit first?”
Sophia looked down.
“He has a broken ear.”
Linda smiled.
“Looks like he’s had a rough week.”
Sophia looked at the rabbit.
Then, for the first time in two days, she almost smiled.
“Yeah.”
She walked with Linda into the living room.
Daniel stayed in the kitchen.
Sarah stood across from him.
Neither spoke.
Because both of them understood.
Whatever happened next would not be decided by promises.
It would be decided by what they did after the promises were over.
Linda spent fifteen minutes with Sophia in the living room.
Daniel did not know exactly what they talked about.
He knew he was not supposed to know.
That bothered him at first.
Then he realized something important.
Sophia deserved a place where she could speak without protecting either parent.
When Linda returned, Sophia was holding her rabbit against her chest.
The woman closed her folder.
“Thank you for talking with me,” she told Sophia.
Sophia nodded.
“Okay.”
It was a small answer.
But it was confident.
Linda walked back into the kitchen.
“I have enough information to make some recommendations.”
Daniel stood straighter.
Sarah looked like she was preparing herself for a verdict.
Linda noticed.
“This is not a courtroom.”
Sarah nodded.
“I know.”
“Right now, I am recommending that Sophia stay with you, Daniel, while we continue assessing the situation.”
Daniel felt relief.
Then immediately felt guilty for feeling it.
Because Sarah was sitting three feet away looking like someone had taken the floor out from under her.
Linda continued.
“That does not mean you are being declared a perfect parent.”
Daniel nodded.
“I understand.”
“It means there are immediate safety concerns that need stability.”
Sarah looked down.
“What about me?”
Linda did not soften the truth.
“You need to follow through with the support you mentioned.”
“And I will need confirmation that you are attending.”
Sarah nodded.
May you like
“I understand.”
Linda gathered her things.
