I rushed home, my heart hammering. My wife’s voice had been frantic over the phone, her sobs barely letting her speak. I had barely managed to ask what was wrong before she gasped, “Just come home. Now.”
I burst through the door and froze.
The living room was a mess—drawers yanked open, picture frames knocked over, shattered glass on the floor. My wife stood near the couch, trembling, holding her stomach protectively.
“What happened?” I demanded, scanning the room for signs of an intruder.
She wiped her tear-streaked face. “She was here,” she whispered.
It took me a second to process. “Who?”
She looked up at me, eyes filled with fear. “Your daughter.”
I felt a chill creep down my spine. “That’s impossible. She’s at work. She left her son with me.”
My wife shook her head. “No… she lied. She came here the moment you left.”
My stomach twisted. “What did she do?”
“She yelled. She—she said awful things. That I ruined her life. That I took her father away. Then she started throwing things, breaking things.” My wife’s voice cracked. “She said she wanted me to feel the way she felt when you left her behind.”
I ran a hand through my hair, my mind racing. This wasn’t just resentment—this was years of pain finally exploding.
“Where is she now?” I asked.
“I don’t know,” my wife said. “She left before I could call you.”
I exhaled, trying to think clearly. My daughter had spent ten years punishing me for moving on, keeping me away from my grandson as revenge. And now, the one time she let me in, it wasn’t an olive branch—it was a distraction. A setup.
I looked at my wife, still shaking. At our home, in ruins. At the family I had chosen, now broken by the past I had tried to leave behind.
Something inside me hardened.
I pulled out my phone and dialed my daughter’s number. It rang. And rang. And rang. Then finally—
Voicemail.
I clenched my jaw. Enough was enough.
If she wanted a war, I wouldn’t fight her. But I also wouldn’t let her keep destroying everything I had built.
I looked at my wife. “We’ll fix this,” I promised.
And this time, I meant it.