My 11-year-old daughter came home with a broken arm and bruises all over her body. After rushing her to the hospital, I went straight to the school to find the bully—only to discover his parent was my ex. He laughed when he saw me. “Like mother, like daughter. Both failures.” I ignored him and questioned the boy. He shoved me and sneered, “My dad funds this school. I make the rules.” When I asked if he hurt my daughter and he said yes, I made a call. “We got the evidence.” They chose the wrong child—the daughter of the Chief Judge.

Chapter 1: The Hospital and the Pain
The smell of antiseptic is a memory trigger for most people. For me, it usually meant late nights reviewing autopsy reports or visiting crime victims to take depositions. But today, the smell was personal. It smelled like fear.

“Mommy, it hurts.”

The whimper came from the hospital bed where my seven-year-old daughter, Lily, lay curled in a fetal position. Her left arm was encased in a fresh, white plaster cast. But it was the purple bruise blossoming across her cheekbone like a dark orchid that made my breath hitch in my throat.

“I know, baby. I know,” I whispered, brushing a damp strand of hair from her forehead. My hand was steady, but inside, my organs felt like they were twisting into knots. “The doctor gave you medicine. It will stop hurting soon.”

Lily looked up at me with eyes that were too old for her face. Eyes that had seen violence.

“I don’t want to go back to school,” she said, her voice trembling. “Please don’t make me go back.”

“You don’t have to go back until you’re ready,” I promised. “But you need to tell me exactly what happened. The nurse said you fell down the stairs. Did you trip?”