Chapter 8 - The Interrogation
While Noah was being prepped for his bone reduction procedure under light sedation, I walked out into the hospital waiting room. Derek was standing by the coffee machine, wearing a clean shirt he had bought from the hospital gift shop, his bruised knuckles wrapped in medical tape.
Detective Miller and Brenda Vance, the senior CPS caseworker, were sitting at a small table near the window.
"Christian," Derek said, stepping forward and placing a heavy hand on my shoulder. "How is he?"
"Broken radius and ulna," I said, my voice hollow. "And... old rib fractures from three weeks ago."
Derek’s eyes darkened instantly. He looked toward the floor, his jaw working as he fought to control his rage. "That motherfucker."
Detective Miller stood up, opening a thick leather notebook. "Mr. Vance, I just finished taking a preliminary statement from your ex-wife downstairs in the security lobby."
"What did she say?" I demanded.
"She claims she had no idea Travis was capable of violence," Miller replied. "She claims the bruises on Noah's ribs three weeks ago were from a fall off his playground set at the park. But when we ran Travis's criminal background check through the state database twenty minutes ago..."
Miller pulled out a printout and slid it across the table.
"Travis Miller isn't his real name. His legal name is Travis Aaron Thorne. He served three years in state prison for felony domestic battery and child endangerment in Nevada before moving here two years ago under an alias."
"And Lena knew?" I asked, my voice rising in disbelief.
"We found text messages on Travis's confiscated phone from last night," Detective Miller said grimly. "Lena was complaining to Travis that Noah was 'ruining their relationship' and asking too many questions about why his dad didn't live with them anymore. Travis texted back: 'I'll handle the brat tomorrow while you're out.' Lena replied: 'Just don't leave marks where his dad can see them.'"
The sheer, monstrous horror of those words hung in the air like poison.
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Lena hadn't just been negligent. She was an accomplice to the abuse of our four-year-old child to keep her abusive boyfriend happy.
"She's being arrested right now downstairs," Detective Miller said quietly. "Full charges of child endangerment, conspiracy, and obstruction of justice."
