Chapter 4 - The Gaslighting
The nightmare deepened when a high-powered, slick defense attorney managed to get David out on bail. The judge, citing David's lack of prior criminal history and tying the chemical strictly to "unorthodox parenting," set the bail infuriatingly low.
Immediately, the psychological warfare began.
David didn't approach us directly—he knew the restraining order would put him back in a cell. Instead, he used his family and our mutual friends. My phone blew up with messages from people telling me I was overreacting. He’s a good father! It was just a stupid science experiment. You’re destroying your family over a misunderstanding.
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Then came the anonymous deliveries. A bouquet of dead roses on my sister's porch. A kitchen timer left on the hood of my car.
He was trying to make me feel crazy. He wanted me to doubt myself, to crack under the pressure and drop the charges. But every time I looked at Lily, who still flinched at the sound of running water, my resolve hardened into steel. I wasn't the naive woman he married anymore. I was a mother protecting her cub.
