Chapter 3 - What Anger Cost
Daniel signed the surgical consent with a hand that would not hold the pen steady. Claire disappeared through swinging doors, and suddenly there was nothing for him to do but wait.
Emma slept against his aunt Grace's shoulder, one fist tangled in Grace's scarf. Every few minutes she startled awake and asked the same question.
"Is Mommy home yet?"
"Not yet, sweetheart," Daniel said. "The doctors are helping her."
He didn't promise anything else. Promises had become frightening.
Reyes sat across from him. "I need a full statement about what you did to Mallory."
"I swung the pot. I'm not going to pretend I slipped."
"Good. Tell me why."
"Because I was scared. Because for one second I wanted her to feel what she'd done to Claire." He stared at his scraped knuckles. "And because I stopped being the father Emma needed."
Reyes didn't soften the truth. "Your sister may face charges for attacking Claire. Your own assault is being reviewed separately. Both people were hurt. The law doesn't erase one act because another came first."
"I know."
Outside the room, a hospital volunteer recognized Daniel and whispered to another visitor. An online video of him striking Mallory was already spreading. The clip began just after Claire fell. Without the first attack, he looked like a man who had simply lost his mind at a funeral.
Grace held up her phone. "Mallory's friend posted it. They're calling you dangerous."
"Maybe I was. For those two seconds, I was."
Emma opened her eyes. "Daddy, are they going to take you away?"
He knelt in front of her. "I made a bad choice. I'm going to take responsibility. But I won't stop taking care of you."
A hospital social worker joined them, introduced herself, and helped Grace arrange a quiet room for Emma away from the phones and cameras.
Near midnight, the surgeon emerged. Claire had survived surgery, but her condition remained critical. Daniel pressed his palms over his face and breathed for the first time in hours.
Then Emma whispered, "Daddy, Grandma said Aunt Mallory was taking money from people who couldn't fight back."
Daniel looked at her.
May you like
"How do you know that?"
"I heard Grandma crying on the phone. She said she had proof."
