\u201cMommy, Daddy\u2019s girlfriend\u2019s boyfriend hit me again. He said if I tell you, he\u2019ll hurt you too.\u201d<\/p>\n
The trembling voice of my eight-year-old daughter, Emma, echoed through the phone like glass shattering. <\/p>\n
My hand froze midair, coffee spilling across the hotel desk. I was five hundred miles away in Chicago for a work trip, but in that moment, the distance felt like a canyon I could never cross fast enough.<\/p>\n
\u201cSweetheart, where are you? Are you safe right now?\u201d I asked, my voice shaking\u201cHe\u2019s in the kitchen. Daddy\u2019s watching TV,\u201d she whispered. I could hear muffled sobs, and then\u2014 a man\u2019s voice in the background, sharp and angry.<\/p>\n
My heart stopped. \u201cEmma? Emma!\u201d<\/p>\n
I immediately called my ex-husband, Mark. He answered on the second ring, sounding irritated.
\n\u201cJessica, what the hell is this about now? Emma said some nonsense before hanging up on me.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cMark,\u201d I said, trying to keep my composure, \u201cshe told me Wayne hit her. She sounded terrified. You need to check on her right now!\u201dMark scoffed. \u201cShe\u2019s a pathetic liar. Wayne would never hurt anyone.\u201d<\/p>\n
Before I could reply, I heard a man shouting in the background\u2014Wayne\u2019s voice.
\n\u201cTell her Mommy she\u2019s next if she tries anything!\u201d<\/p>\n
I froze. \u201cMark, did you hear that?!\u201d<\/p>\n
My ex laughed bitterly. \u201cYou know how kids are. Always making up dramatic stories for attention. She\u2019s been a problem child ever since the divorce.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
\u201cMommy, Daddy\u2019s girlfriend\u2019s boyfriend hit me again. He said if I tell you, he\u2019ll hurt you too.\u201d The trembling voice of my eight-year-old daughter, Emma, echoed through… <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":25481,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_uf_show_specific_survey":0,"_uf_disable_surveys":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-25480","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t