“My husband insisted that the girl was just pretending, until I secretly took her to have some tests done. When the doctor looked at the screen, he whispered trembling, ‘There is something alive inside the girl…,’ and my scream tore through the silence of the hospital.”

The question struck me like a slap.

“Of course,” I said, but my voice sounded thin. “I… I would never let anything happen to her.”

Neha looked at me with compassion—and with a painful honesty reserved for those about to watch their world fall apart.

“Sometimes,” she said softly, “children stay silent because they’re trying to protect the very people they love.”

Something flickered in my mind:
Anaya shrinking when Rajesh entered a room.
Her growing silence.
Her sudden fear of weekends when he stayed home.

No.

My throat tightened painfully.

I collapsed into a chair, shaking.

“For now,” Neha continued, “I recommend that you and Anaya stay somewhere else tonight—perhaps with a relative—just as a precaution.”

My breathing became shallow.

Rajesh had always been strict, sometimes harsh—but not this.
Not this.

Except… I was already thinking it.

And every memory I had pushed aside came flooding back.

“I’ll take her to my sister’s place,” I whispered.

Neha placed a hand on my shoulder.
“Good. The police will speak with you both tomorrow. Tonight, focus on keeping Anaya safe.”

When I returned to the examination room, Anaya sat curled into herself, staring at the wall. When she saw me, she broke down again.

I held her tightly.

“I’m here,” I whispered. “You’re safe with me. We’ll get through this. I promise.”

But inside, I was falling apart.

Because I already feared the truth I wasn’t ready to face.

And the next day, that truth shattered our lives.