Chapter 14 - What My Daughter Chose to SayRosie met with a specially trained child interviewer the following week.

I wasn't allowed to sit beside her during the interview.

That was difficult.

Every instinct told me to stay close.

To hold her hand.

To answer when she became confused.

But Leah and the professionals explained why a neutral setting mattered.

Rosie needed space to speak in her own words, without feeling she had to please me.

Before the appointment, I knelt beside her in the waiting room.

"You don't have to remember everything," I said.

She held her stuffed rabbit beneath one arm.

"Okay."

"And if you don't know an answer, it's okay to say that."

She nodded.

"And Daddy?"

"Yes?"

"Will the lady be nice?"

"I believe so."

Rosie touched the pink ribbon around her rabbit's neck.

Then she looked at me.

"Can I tell her I don't want to go to the big house?"

My heart tightened.

"Yes, sweetheart. You can tell her how you feel."

She considered that.

Then asked, "Will you still be here?"

"Right outside."

She slipped her hand into mine.

"Promise?"

"Promise."

The interviewer greeted her warmly.

Rosie hesitated for a moment, then walked inside carrying her rabbit.

The door closed.

I sat in the hallway.

My knee bounced uncontrollably.

I checked the clock too often.

Several times, I stood and walked to the water fountain even though I wasn't thirsty.

When Rosie came out, her face looked serious.

She spotted me and ran.

I picked her up.

"Hi, baby."

She pressed her cheek against mine.

"Can we get ice cream?"

I almost laughed from relief.

"Absolutely."

I didn't ask what she'd said.

I didn't ask whether she'd told the interviewer about Celeste.

We went to a small ice cream shop near the park.

Rosie chose strawberry with rainbow sprinkles.

She ate slowly, watching birds hop along the sidewalk.

Then she asked whether people were allowed to change their minds.

"About what?"

"Going places."

"Of course."

"Even if they're family places?"

I set down my spoon.

"Yes."

She looked at me carefully.

"Then I don't want to go back to Aunt Celeste's house."

I felt a sharp ache in my chest.

"Okay."

"Not even for Christmas."

"Okay."

"Can Oliver come here instead?"

I considered my answer.

"Maybe someday, if the adults can arrange it safely."

Rosie frowned.

"His mommy gets mad a lot."

I didn't correct her.

I simply waited.

She traced a finger through the melting ice cream.

"He gets quiet when she does."

There was something devastating about how casually she said it.

Two children had learned different ways to respond to the same woman.

Rosie cried.

Oliver went silent.

Neither should have needed a strategy.

"Does Oliver get scared?" I asked before I could stop myself.

Rosie shrugged.

"Sometimes."

I caught myself.

Leah had told me not to question her about the events or other children.

I wasn't going to turn ice cream into another interview.

"How about we go feed the ducks?" I said.

She brightened immediately.

"Yes!"

We bought duck-safe food from a nearby dispenser and spent half an hour by the pond.

For the first time in weeks, Rosie ran ahead of me without looking over her shoulder.

I watched her laugh when a duck chased a floating leaf.

That sound mattered more than any legal victory.

Later, Leah explained that the interviewer would provide information to the appropriate investigators and that the process was still ongoing.

She didn't give me a dramatic transcript.

She didn't promise charges.

And she warned me that a four-year-old's recollection had to be evaluated with care.

I appreciated the honesty.

But she had more news.

The trustees' meeting had been postponed.

The family had agreed, temporarily, not to complete the disputed restructuring while counsel exchanged records.

"Does that mean we stopped them?" I asked.

"For now, there's a pause. Not a final resolution."

I closed my eyes.

"That's something."

"It is."

Then Leah continued.

"We also received another batch of financial documents."

"Anything important?"

"Yes. The management expenses include payments to a company Victor controls."

I stared at the phone.

"How much?"

"Enough that we need a complete explanation."

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Victor hadn't simply been helping his wife intimidate me.

He stood to benefit from keeping the financial arrangements out of view.