Bryce Cox had been spoiled since birth—a little tyrant who terrorized the village and answered to no one.
Daniel's mother was the kind of woman who believed sons were gold and daughters were dust, and she took her grandson's side in everything.
If Daniel had brought Rose there, there was no chance she wasn't being bullied.
The thought hit me like ice water. I called my brother immediately, told him to get to the countryside as fast as he could.
The second I hung up, I floored the gas. I would have flown there if I could.
It was already dark by the time I arrived.
The car barely stopped before I unbuckled my seatbelt and ran toward the courtyard.
One step through the gate and my legs almost gave out.
Rose was on the ground, sobbing, screaming for her dad, her mom, over and over.
Bryce was sitting on her stomach, pinning her so she couldn't get up.
He was grabbing pebbles off the ground and throwing them at her face, cursing the whole time.
"You're bad luck! Nobody even wants you! Why won't you give me your snacks!"
"This is my house! You have to do what I say, or I'll beat you to death!"
"And my uncle said your mom doesn't want you anymore! You worthless little nothing—you're gonna get sent back here to be my servant!"
While my daughter was being treated like this, Daniel sat at the wooden table with his mother, his brother, and the rest of the family, eating dinner.
As if none of this was happening.
I couldn't take another second. I charged forward, shoved Bryce off hard, and pulled Rose into my arms.
That kicked the hornet's nest.
The whole family, deaf and blind a moment ago, shot to their feet.
Daniel's mother rushed straight at me and scooped the wailing Bryce into her arms.
"My poor baby, my sweet boy, Grandma's here. Did she hurt you anywhere?"
"Let Grandma see, let Grandma see. Are you hurt? Why are you crying so hard?"
Daniel stepped forward and shoved me.
"Evelyn, have you lost your mind!"
"Bryce is only four! How could you use that kind of force on a child?"
I knocked his hand away so hard my palm stung. I wanted to tear him apart.
"Daniel, are you even human? She's your daughter—your blood! She was crying for you and you just sat there!"
"Bryce is only four? Rose is four too! You watched him do that to her and didn't move?"
"If Rose is hurt because of this, I swear to God your family will answer for it!"
His mother, satisfied Bryce was fine, strode over to me.
"Oh, you can't compare that. They're children—they shove, they scuffle, that's what kids do. What business does a grown-up have jumping in?"
"You're a grown woman. How could you put your hands on a child?"
"The day this family married you was the day our luck turned. Can't even bear a son, and now you want to hurt my grandson too?"
Daniel's brother sauntered over to Daniel's side, picking his teeth.
"Bro, this wife of yours is something else. Look at that face—ready to bite someone's head off. She's gonna be walking all over you any day now."
"I'm not one to talk, but come on—you're the eldest son of the Cox family. Forget that you haven't carried on the family name. You couldn't even find a wife who knows her place?"
"Take it from me—you can't give women an inch. You think my wife would dare open her mouth to me like that?"
Daniel's expression was getting uglier by the second. My heart slammed once, hard.
Rose was still in my arms. I couldn't fight all of them—not like this, not holding her.
I tightened my grip on my daughter and walked straight for the door.
Daniel's voice hit me from behind.
His jaw was clenched, every word forced through gritted teeth.
"Stop right there! Apologize to Bryce. Apologize to my mother!"
I turned around slowly, unable to believe what I'd just heard.
"Daniel, your daughter was the one getting hit!"
"I have nothing left to say to your family. Daniel, I want a divorce!"
The second those words left my mouth, Lois's fury shifted into something else entirely.
She dropped to the ground, slapping her thighs, and started wailing.
"Old man! Old man, you get over here and look at this! Your son and his wife want me dead! They're trying to put me in the ground!"
"I broke my back raising two boys on my own, and now this woman's poisoned my son against his own mother!"
"Why didn't you take me with you, huh? I should just go join you—be done with it!"
Her wailing drew the neighbors out.
Slack season, everyone home, dinner just finished—one by one they drifted to their doorways and peered into the little courtyard.
"Hold on, isn't that the older Cox boy? What happened? Why's he back tonight? That his wife and daughter with him?"
"Word is the daughter-in-law's demanding a divorce. I'm right next door—heard every word of it."
"Lord have mercy, isn't he supposed to be the one who made it? Good job out in Riverton and everything? What's she divorcing him for?"
The whispers spread. Daniel's face went tight with humiliation.
He couldn't take it anymore. His hand shot up, aimed straight at me—the neighbors watching, his pride in shreds, and hitting me the only answer he had left.
Then a familiar voice reached everyone's ears.
"Stop!"
"What do you think you're doing!"
