“What happened to you is serious,” she said. “And documenting it carefully right now matters more than you might think.”
We built a list together. Hospital records and the incident file number. Dana’s witness information. Screenshots of every text Eric had sent since I left. Bank account details and copies of the lease agreement. A request for formal documentation of my sole medical decision-making authority for the remainder of the pregnancy. Ms. Bennett also told me to save every message Eric sent without responding to any of them, particularly anything that contradicted his account or showed his real motivations.
That advice proved useful almost immediately.
His first messages were angry. You embarrassed me in front of a police officer. Your family is filling your head with poison. Call me right now. When I did not respond those softened slightly. I was under enormous stress. I didn’t fully understand what was happening with you physically. You know I would never truly hurt you. By the next day he had moved to bargaining. Come home and we can talk about this like two rational adults. Don’t blow up our family over one bad moment.
One bad moment.
I saved everything. Every single message, screenshot by screenshot, time-stamped.
