6:18 p.m.
Clean.
The ER photograph was taken at 7:07.
Fresh bleeding.
The time between them mattered.
So did Mrs. Henderson across the street.
She had a doorbell camera.
It showed Rachel leaving at 6:26.
Her car remaining in the driveway because she had sat inside finishing documentation.
At 6:32 she walked back to the house.
Nobody else had entered.
Daniel later tried to say I might have injured myself after Rachel left.
Technically possible.
Until there was my statement.
Rachel’s observations.
And something else.
The officer asked whether Daniel had ever hurt me before.
My instinct was to say no.
Then I stopped.
“No like this?”
The officer waited.
I understood what he was asking.
Had he grabbed me?
Yes.
Had he blocked doors?
Yes.
Had he squeezed my wrist hard enough to bruise?
Twice.
Had he pushed me onto the bed after surgery because I refused to discuss our finances?
