02/10/2026
âStop,â he barked, voice low and furious. âShe needs to learn. If she canât survive water, she doesnât deserve life.â
For a second, I thought Iâd misheard him. The words were so grotesque my brain refused to file them anywhere. But he said it again, slower, squeezing his arm tighter.
âIf she canât survive water, she doesnât deserve life.â
My vision narrowed. Colors sharpened and then bled at the edges. Haley. The world shrank to the knowledge that my childâmy childâwas underwater, and I was being held back from her by the man who was supposed to be my father.
My hands flew to his arm, nails digging into his skin. I clawed, twisted, kicked. My lungs screamed for air, my throat burning. I tried to wrench his arm away, but he was still big, still strong, still the man whoâd towered over me my whole life.
âLet me go!â I gasped, but it came out as a strangled, broken sound. My voice felt like it was being ground into dust. âHaleyââ
How could they do that to a child? If you were the mother, what would you do? Read below đ