My 6-year-old granddaughter phoned me in panic just after midnight. “Mommy says the baby is coming! Help!” I asked, “Where’s daddy?” She answered, “He k!cked mommy’s tummy and left.”…..

“Mommy curled up in a ball, and he kicked her some more. Then he said bad words and left. Mommy was crying, and there was blood, so I called you like she told me to.”

Harry rested his forehead briefly against Lydia’s hair. “You did exactly right, baby girl.”

Footsteps echoed through the hallway.

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