Chapter 4: The Message in Her Own Words
Monique stared at the paper in Raymond's hand.
For several seconds, she didn't move.
The living room seemed to shrink around her. The curtains were half closed, the television was still playing silently, and the shattered phone lay beneath the coffee table.
But all Monique could see was the sentence printed at the top of the page.
If anything happens to Ava, please don't let Darius know I contacted you.
Her handwriting.
Her words.
And a date from three weeks earlier.
Darius snatched the paper.
“What is this?””
Raymond didn't resist.
“Read it.””
“I can read.””
“Then do it.””
Darius scanned the message. His expression changed as he reached the bottom.
He turned toward his wife.
“You contacted Raymond?””
Monique swallowed.
“Darius, I can explain.””
“When?””
She looked down.
“When, Monique?””
“Three weeks ago.””
He laughed, but there was no humor in it.
“You've been going behind my back?””
“I was worried about Ava.””
“Worried about what?””
Monique glanced at the little girl standing beside Evelyn.
Ava's eyes were fixed on the floor.
Raymond stepped closer.
“Let her speak.””
Darius pointed at him.
“This is my house. You don't get to interrogate my wife.””
Raymond's voice remained calm.
“Then stop frightening everybody long enough for them to tell the truth.””
Darius turned back to Monique.
“Tell me what you sent him.””
Monique's lips trembled.
“I told him Ava had been waking up crying.””
“Children have nightmares.””
“I told him you were losing your temper over little things.””
“That's called parenting.””
“I told him she was afraid to be alone with you.””
The words landed heavily.
Darius stared at her.
Then he looked toward Evelyn.
“This is what you've done. You've turned my own wife against me.””
Evelyn shook her head.
“No, son. Your actions did that.””
“Shut up!””
Ava flinched.
Raymond immediately moved between Darius and the chair.
“Lower your voice.””
Darius looked at him with open hostility.
“Don't tell me how to speak.””
Raymond placed the printed message on the table.
“Monique wrote that she was afraid Ava would eventually get hurt.””
Darius laughed again.
“Did I hit my daughter?””
Nobody answered.
He spread his arms.
“Exactly!””
Evelyn's voice was quiet.
“You don't have to leave a bruise to make a child afraid of you.””
Darius turned toward her.
“Don't give me that nonsense.””
Raymond opened the folder and removed another sheet.
“This is the message Monique sent me after Ava called her grandmother.””
Monique closed her eyes.
“Please don't.””
Raymond looked at her.
“You asked me to keep it private until you were ready to speak.””
Darius leaned forward.
“What did she say?””
Raymond read slowly.
“'Darius took Ava's bedroom door off its hinges because she locked herself inside after an argument. He says she's being disrespectful. I don't know how to make him stop.''”
Evelyn's hand flew to her mouth.
She looked at Ava.
“Baby, is that true?””
Ava nodded.
“When?””
“Last month.””
Darius shook his head.
“She locked herself in her room. I removed the door because she needed to learn that she couldn't shut me out.””
Raymond stared at him.
“She was ten.””
“She was disobedient!””
Monique stepped forward.
“She was crying, Darius. She was begging you to leave her alone.””
“You were supposed to be her mother!””
“I am her mother!””
“Then why didn't you stop her?””
Monique looked at him as though he had slapped her.
“Because you wouldn't let me.””
The room went silent.
Evelyn slowly sat back in the armchair.
She remembered the afternoon Ava had arrived at her house carrying a small overnight bag. The girl had said she wanted to spend the weekend with Grandma because she missed her.
Evelyn had believed her.
Now she understood that the child had been looking for somewhere she could close a bedroom door without fearing what might happen afterward.
Raymond pulled another document from his folder.
“There's more.””
Darius threw his hands up.
“Of course there is!””
“This isn't about embarrassing you.””
“Then what is it about?””
“Making sure Ava is safe.””
Raymond placed the paper beside the first.
It was a printed message from Monique, sent two weeks after her first warning.
This time, she read it aloud herself.
“'I found Ava sleeping in the laundry room last night. She said she wanted somewhere quiet where nobody could shout at her.''”
Evelyn's eyes filled.
She turned toward her granddaughter.
“You slept in the laundry room?””
Ava nodded.
“Just once, Grandma.””
“Why didn't you tell me?””
“Daddy said you would be upset.””
Evelyn reached for her hand.
“Oh, sweetheart.””
Darius immediately interrupted.
“She went in there herself! I never told her to sleep there!””
Ava looked up.
“You said I wasn't allowed in my room until I apologized.””
Darius opened his mouth.
Nothing came out.
Monique wiped her cheeks.
“I tried talking to you. I asked you to stop shouting. I asked you to stop taking her things away when you were angry.””
“You were undermining me!””
“I was trying to protect our daughter.””
Raymond closed the folder.
“That's enough for tonight.””
Darius looked at him.
“Where are you taking them?””
“Evelyn and Ava are coming with me if that's what they want.””
“You can't take my daughter.””
Raymond nodded toward Ava.
“Then ask her what she wants without threatening her.””
Darius turned.
“Ava, come here.””
The girl immediately stepped behind Evelyn.
“See?”” Darius said.
“Your grandmother has taught her to fear me.””
Evelyn stood slowly.
“No, Darius. She learned that fear from experience.””
Monique began crying harder.
Darius pointed at her.
“You're coming with me. We need to talk.””
Monique didn't move.
“I'm staying here.””
His expression hardened.
“You're my wife.””
“And she's my daughter.””
For the first time, Monique didn't look away.
Raymond reached for Evelyn's coat.
“Let's get you both somewhere safe.””
Evelyn nodded.
But as she helped Ava put on her backpack, Darius suddenly spoke.
“Mom.””
She stopped.
He was standing beside the broken phone.
His face had lost its anger. Something colder had replaced it.
“You think you've won?””
Evelyn turned.
“No.””
He smiled faintly.
“Good. Because you haven't heard the whole story.””
Then he looked at Monique.
“Tell them what happened the night Ava disappeared for three hours.””
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Monique's face went completely white.
And Ava slowly began to cry.
