“I don’t know. A lot. Since he moved in with Mommy. Like three months.”

“And Mommy knows about this game…”

“Justin says it’s a secret. That I shouldn’t tell Mommy. But today I forgot and told her, and Mommy got really mad. She yelled and said I should never talk about it.”

“Mommy got mad at you for telling her?”

“Yes. She said I was a bad girl for making up lies about Justin.”

Ethan felt rage so intense he had to close his eyes for a second. Lauren hadn’t just allowed it—she had blamed Lily for speaking up.

“Lily, listen to me very carefully. None of this is your fault. That game is not a game. It’s something very bad that Justin should never do. And you did the right thing telling me.”

“I’m not in trouble?”

“No, baby. You’re never in trouble. Justin is in trouble. A lot of trouble.”

Ethan stood, mind racing. He had to act fast, but correctly.

“Lily, can you go to your room and play with your dolls for a few minutes? Daddy needs to make a very important phone call. Okay?”

“Okay.”

“Everything’s going to be all right. I promise.”

Once Lily was in her room, Ethan dialed 911.

“911, what’s your emergency?”

“My name is Ethan Carter. My six-year-old daughter just told me she’s been sexually abused by my ex-wife’s boyfriend.”

“Sir, is your daughter in immediate danger right now?”

“No, she’s safe here with me, but she just came back from her mother’s house where the abuse has been happening.”

“Understood. Officers are on the way to your location. Do not bathe your daughter or change her clothes—there may be forensic evidence.”

Ethan looked toward Lily’s room in horror. He had already bathed her after dinner, not knowing.

“I already bathed her. I didn’t know. She hadn’t told me yet.”

“It’s okay, sir. Officers will be there shortly. Keep your daughter calm and don’t question her further. Specialists will handle that.”

Twenty minutes later, two officers arrived along with a child-abuse specialist named Maria Torres. Maria spoke to Lily with extreme gentleness in a private room while Ethan gave his statement to the officers in the living room.

“She called it a game,” Ethan explained, voice breaking. “She said her mother’s boyfriend, a man named Justin, has been touching her inappropriately for about three months. And her mother knew. Lily said she mentioned it to her mom today and her mom got angry… called her a liar.”

The officers exchanged grim looks.