Chapter 2 - WHAT WE DID NOT KNOW YETThe police did not open the notebook dramatically in front of us.
That is one of the first differences between what happened and the version people later imagined.
Officer Brooks photographed where it had been found.
She secured the bottle and notebook.
Detective referral.
Child-protection notification.
Evidence handling.
Procedure.
No one stood in our bathroom reading secret pages aloud while Mark confessed.
Instead I sat on the edge of my bed with Sophie wrapped in the towel while a paramedic asked her whether anything hurt.
“No.”
Was she dizzy?
“No.”
Did she feel sick?
“No.”
Did she want water?
“No.”
Sophie asked for Bun-Bun.
Officer Walsh retrieved him from the hallway.
That small kindness nearly made me cry harder than anything else.
She pressed the stuffed rabbit against her chest.
Mark was told to remain downstairs.
I could hear pieces of his voice.
“This is a misunderstanding.”
“My wife assaulted me.”
“She is emotional.”
“I haven’t hurt Sophie.”
All statements worth investigating.
Including the first one about me.
I had kicked him.
Not while he was attacking Sophie physically at that second.
I had seen what I believed was danger and used force.
Whether legally justified would be examined separately.
My anger did not grant me immunity.
I understood that later.
That night, I only wanted him out of the house.
A child-protection worker named Dana Wells arrived before midnight.
She did not ask Sophie for a detailed story.
Instead she focused on immediate safety.
Was Mark leaving voluntarily?
Yes, after speaking with an attorney.
Would he stay with his brother?
Yes.
Would he agree to no unsupervised contact with Sophie pending assessment?
His lawyer advised him to agree temporarily.
Would I ensure no questioning of Sophie beyond basic safety?
Yes.
Dana looked directly at me.
“Do not ask, ‘What did Daddy give you?’”
I nodded.
“Do not ask, ‘Did Daddy make you drink medicine?’”
My stomach turned at the word medicine.
“I don’t know that it was medicine.”
“Correct. And we keep it that way until we have evidence.”
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That discipline became crucial.
Because fear was already trying to write the story faster than facts could.
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