Chapter 5 - CAROL CALLED IT DISCIPLINE
Carol’s attorney eventually arranged a statement.
She did not deny using the belt.
That surprised me.
Instead, she defended it.
“She needed correction.”
That was Carol.
She genuinely believed authority transformed violence into discipline.
She said Emma had become disrespectful.
At six.
She said I encouraged weakness.
She said Jason had been raised with consequences and “turned out fine.”
I wanted to ask whether a man who secretly moved his daughter’s education money into his mother’s business was her definition of fine.
My attorney advised silence.
Good advice.
Then Carol said something more important.
“Jason told me Lauren was threatening to take Emma away.”
There.
My stomach tightened.
“He said I might not see my granddaughter anymore.”
So Carol framed the birthday incident as a last stand.
Authority.
Access.
Control.
Not one spilled drink.
She had gone into that party already angry at me.
Emma merely became the safest person to punish.
May you like
That truth made me colder than the belt itself.
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