He slowly looked up. His eyes were full of fear and shame.
“Tell me everything from the beginning. And don’t hide anything from me.”
Ethan swallowed. He looked at Spencer, then at me again.
“I… I was late because I stayed studying at a friend’s house. I have a math test on Monday. I got home at 10:15 p.m. Not that late. But when I opened the door, Chelsea was there in the living room with the lights off. Only the kitchen light was on.”
His voice began to crack, but he continued.
“She said, ‘You’re late, you insolent brat.’ I told her I had texted my dad. She laughed and showed me my dad’s phone. She had it. My dad was asleep. Then she said, ‘Your father doesn’t care about you. Nobody cares about you. You’re an annoyance in this house.’”
Tears started rolling down his cheeks.
“I just wanted to go up to my room, Grandma. I swear to you. But she grabbed my arm and pulled me. I tried to break free, and then she… she took the candlestick from the table and hit me here.”
He pointed to his bandaged eyebrow.
“I felt everything spin. I fell to the floor. And while I was lying there bleeding, she gave herself the bruises by hitting herself against the wall. I saw her, Grandma. I saw her do it.”
“Where was your father?”
“Asleep in his room. She had given him some chamomile tea because he said he was stressed. When he heard the noise and came downstairs, everything was already set up. Chelsea was crying, saying I had attacked her. My dad didn’t even ask me. He just yelled that I was a disgrace and called the police.”
I closed my eyes for a moment. I took a deep breath. The rage I felt was like a fire contained in my chest.
“And the candlestick?”
“She hid it before my dad came down. I don’t know where she put it.”
I opened my eyes and looked directly at Spencer.
“Charles, you knew my work for twenty years. Did you ever see me let an innocent person pay for something they didn’t do?”
“Never, Commander.”
“My grandson is telling the truth. And I’m going to prove it.”
Spencer rubbed his face with both hands.
“Elellanena… legally, my hands are tied. It’s the word of a minor against that of two adults. The father supports the wife’s version. I don’t have physical evidence to contradict their story. The only thing I can do is let him go under your temporary custody while the investigation proceeds. But I need you to sign as the responsible party.”
“Do it. I’ll take responsibility.”
Spencer took out some papers and began filling them out. Meanwhile, I watched Ethan. That boy had grown so much in the last year. He was sixteen, almost a man. But at that moment, huddled in that chair with a broken eyebrow and swollen eyes, he was once again the seven-year-old boy who cried in my arms when his mother died.
“How long has this been going on, Ethan?” I asked in a low voice.
He looked down again.
“What, Grandma?”
“Don’t ask me that question. You know what I’m referring to.”
There was a long silence. I could hear the ticking of the clock on the wall. Finally, Ethan spoke, so softly I barely heard him.
“For six months.”
