Two prior assault charges. One from a bar fight. Another involving his stepbrother.
He’d been living in Heather’s apartment for four months.
We hadn’t known.
She’d never told us.
When detectives attempted to locate him, they hit a wall. Travis had vanished. He didn’t show up for work. His apartment was empty. No forwarding address. No witnesses.
Heather claimed she hadn’t seen him in over a week.
Her phone records told a different story.
She’d texted him just two hours before showing up at our door with Emery.
That’s when the air shifted.
This was no longer about an abusive boyfriend alone. The question turned darker, heavier, impossible to ignore.
Had Heather known what was happening?
Had she protected him?
Or had she been part of it?
James sat across from the detective, his jaw clenched so tight I thought it might crack. His voice was steady, but only because anger had burned everything else away.
“We don’t care about blame,” he said. “We care about Emery being safe.”
“That’s our priority too,” the officer replied. “At this point, Heather is considered a potential accomplice. She’s not under arrest, but her access to the baby has been suspended.”
I felt James’s hand tighten around mine.
I swallowed. “If Emery can’t go back to her… what happens next?”
The CPS worker leaned forward, her tone gentle but direct.
“You can petition for emergency custody. You discovered the injuries. You acted immediately. That matters. Right now, you’re the safest option she has.”
I looked at James, and in that moment, the fear gave way to something else.
Resolve.
Because whatever came next—courtrooms, paperwork, long nights—we already knew the truth.
Emery wasn’t going back.
Not on our watch.
The thought terrified me—but losing her was worse.
That evening, Heather showed up at our door. She looked thinner. Pale. Nervous.
“I didn’t do anything,” she said. “It was him. Travis. I didn’t know it was this bad.”
“You let him live with you,” James said, voice low. “Around your newborn.”
“I was tired,” she snapped. “Alone. He said he loved me.”
“You didn’t love Emery enough.”
