Mother Hears Her Five-Year-Old Say Daddy’s Bath Games Are Secret—Then Police Find an Unlabeled Bottle Hidden Beneath the Sink
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Chapter 21 / 27
Chapter 21 - THE HOUSELeaving the bathroom house was harder than expected.
Sophie liked her room.
Purple walls.
Glow-in-the-dark stars.
A reading corner Mark built.
I considered staying so she would not experience more disruption.
Then one night the pipes rattled while she brushed her teeth.
She froze.
“Timer?”
There was no timer.
That answered the housing question.
We sold.
Bought a smaller townhouse ten minutes away.
One bathroom upstairs.
At first Sophie kept the door open.
Then partly open.
Then eventually closed it herself.
Her choice.
Never locked during bathing at first because she wanted me nearby.
Later she asked for privacy while changing.
May you like
I gave it.
Recovery often looked less like therapy breakthroughs and more like doors changing position.
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Chapter 22 - OCCUPATIONAL THERAPYDr. Shah referred Sophie to pediatric occupational therapist Dana Cho.
Chapter 23 - MARK’S APOLOGYMark wrote Sophie a letter after his therapist and the parenting coordinator agreed it was appropriate.
Chapter 24 - MY OWN APOLOGYI owed Sophie one too.
Chapter 25 - BUN-BUNTwo years after the bathroom night, Bun-Bun lost an ear.
Chapter 26 - THE LAST SUPERVISED BATH QUESTIONTwo years and nine months after the investigation began, Mark’s parenting plan was reviewed again.
Chapter 27 - The EndThree years after I stood outside the half-open bathroom door, Sophie was eight.
