The BennetsRyan frowned, not liking the direction, but he knew his mother’s tone well. It was the voice she used when she was plotting, when she already had the next ten steps mapped out in her head.“So you want me to play nice with her?” he asked, almost disgusted at the thought.Mrs. Bennett turned her head slowly, pinning him with a look. “Do you have a better plan? Because if you do, I’d love to hear it. Otherwise, yes, you smile, you nod, you let her think she’s clever. You make her comfortable, and then you take control of the situation. That woman thinks she’s protecting Monique. She thinks she’s giving her courage. Let her think it. Then we use it to our advantage.”Ryan clenched his jaw, pacing a few steps away before turning back. “I can’t stand the way Monique looks at me now. Like she’s not afraid of me anymore. Like she has options. I swear, Mother, I can’t....”Mrs. Bennett cut him off sharply. “You can. And you will. Because this is bigger than your temper, Ryan. If M
The BennetsWhen Monique left with Officer Perez, Mrs. Bennett was livid. She had never been so furious. Her hands curled into fists as she paced the front desk, trying to keep control. Every step was sharp, her jaw clenched, her eyes flicking toward the officer at the desk, who was watching them a little too closely.She wanted to lash out. She wanted to scream right there in the middle of the station. But instead, she turned sharply toward Ryan.“Let’s go outside for a minute,” she hissed.Ryan followed her lead without question. The two slipped outside, leaving Mr. Bennett behind. He hadn’t reacted to any of it; his face was unreadable, calm in a way that felt unnerving. He simply sat down, pulled a folded newspaper from the side table, and began flipping through it as though none of this chaos belonged to him.Outside, Mrs. Bennett walked a few steps further away before it finally broke from her. She screamed. The sound cut through the air, raw and guttural, startling even Ryan.“
The BennettsAfter Monique’s dramatic display on the road, she threatened to go to the police, got into a taxi and left.Ryan panicked. He was panicking so hard that he felt himself shaking, trembling all over, his body no longer obeying him. He didn’t know what to do. His mind spun in circles. For a wild moment, he thought about running after the taxi. Maybe if he chased it, maybe if he caught up to it, he could stop all of this. But another thought quickly cut him down...no, that would only make things worse. Running after her would not help. It would only cause more harm.So instead, he grabbed his phone with unsteady hands and called his mother.Mrs. Bennett picked up almost instantly.“Yes, Ryan, how did it go?” she asked.Of course, she asked that. She already knew what today was. They had gone to see the lawyer; they had planned every single step perfectly, even down to what should happen at the police station. Everything was supposed to be smooth, calculated, controlled. She w
MONIQUEI swallowed hard,"....I want him to stop. That’s all I want. I just want him to stop.”The officer studied me for a long moment, his pen frozen halfway across the page, like he wasn’t just writing down what I said, he was weighing them too. Finally, he leaned forward again, lowering his voice as if we were the only two people in the room.“Mrs. Bennett,” he said gently, “I need you to understand something. Wanting him to stop is natural, but abusers rarely stop on their own. It’s not about you saying the right thing or avoiding the wrong moment. It’s about control. He’s showing you that if you resist, he’ll push harder. That doesn’t stop because you want it to. It only stops if there’s intervention.”I blinked fast, a tear slipping down. He slid the handkerchief closer to me again, softer this time. “That’s why I asked if you plan to go home tonight. Because if you do, I need to know you’ll be safe. If you don’t, we can arrange a shelter, a safe house, or even a temporary re
MONIQUEThe officer nodded as if he understood, or maybe he didn’t. I couldn’t tell.“And you told us that she is pregnant,” he said, his voice even. “Is there any indication, or suspicion, that the pregnancy could be your husband’s, Mrs. Bennett?”“Yes,” I answered quickly. My throat felt dry, but I pushed the words out anyway. “I mean… he says it’s not. But I a hundred percent believe that he is responsible for that pregnancy.”The officer scribbled something down. His eyes lifted again, steady on me. “Okay. And you told us that everything started with Ariana. Why don’t you tell me about it?”“Okay,” I said softly. Then I paused, letting silence sit between us as if I needed the moment to remember everything. Maybe I did.“I was not at home at the time. I was away. And when I came back… that’s when I found them. That’s when I met Ariana. I didn’t know her back then. I had no idea who she was, but the moment I saw them together, I got suspicious, highly suspicious about their relatio
MONIQUEMr. Perez straightened, his polite smile faltering as he glanced between us. “Of course, Mrs. Bennett...” he caught himself, “...Monique.”Mrs. Bennett’s lips tightened. She didn’t like that he was giving me the floor, didn’t like that her grip on the situation was slipping. Ryan shifted uncomfortably, his jaw working as though he wanted to jump back in but didn’t dare.“Yes,” I said firmly. “I want to talk to you. Alone, if possible.”“You don’t need to trouble the officer,” Mrs. Bennett interjected quickly, her tone syrupy but trembling beneath. “We can handle this privately. This is a family matter....”I turned to her, my voice low but sharp enough to slice. “No. This isn’t just a family matter anymore.”Her eyes widened in outrage, but before she could speak, Perez lifted a hand. “If Mrs. Monique wishes to speak, I will listen. That is my job.”A current of relief swept through me. For once, someone wasn’t bending to the Bennetts.Ryan finally broke, stepping forward. “