Chapter 17 - Mom’s failure to protect
Child services evaluated Mom too.
People expected:
Gary bad.
Mom victim.
Case closed.
Life was messier.
Mom had seen warning signs.
Gary grabbed my wrist once months earlier.
He screamed at Ethan.
He punished us excessively.
He repeatedly called me:
Unstable.
Ungrateful.
Exactly like your father.
Mom minimized it.
Why?
She loved him.
She feared being alone again.
She had tied part of her social life and future plans to him.
She wanted to believe conflict was normal blending-family difficulty.
Then the kitchen happened.
Child services required:
Protective parenting education.
Individual therapy.
No contact between Gary and the children.
A safety plan.
Mom retained legal custody.
But for nearly three months, Ethan and I stayed primarily with Samuel while she stabilized the house and cooperated with the investigation.
May you like
She did not lose us forever.
She did not escape accountability either.
