Chapter 215 - Two Hundred and Fifteen
Chapter Two Hundred and Fifteen
Alicia’s POV
The first woman who came to the foundation was named Maria.
She was twenty-eight years old, had two children under five, and a black eye she’d tried to cover with makeup that was the wrong shade for her skin tone. I recognized that attempt at concealment immediately because I’d done the same thing countless times with Travis.
"Thank you for seeing me," she said, her voice barely above a whisper as she sat across from me in the small office we’d set up in town. "I saw your website. Read about what you do. I don’t know if you can help me, but I had to try."
"Tell me what’s happening," I said gently, keeping my hands visible on the desk between us, making sure nothing about my posture seemed threatening or judgmental.
She told me. About her husband who’d seemed perfect at first. About how the controlling behavior had started small and grown. About the first time he hit her, how he’d cried and apologized and promised it would never happen again. About how it kept happening anyway, getting worse each time. About how she’d tried to leave twice before and he’d found her both times, convinced her to come back with promises and threats in equal measure.
"I have nowhere to go," she finished, tears streaming down her face. "My family disowned me when I married him. I have no money of my own. He controls everything. And I’m terrified that if I leave again, he’ll kill me. But I’m more terrified of what will happen to my children if I stay."
I knew that fear. Had lived it. Had felt that same paralyzing terror of staying versus the equally terrifying prospect of leaving.
"You’re not going to go back," I told her, my voice firm with certainty. "We’re going to help you. We have a safe house where you and your children can stay, somewhere he can’t find you. We have lawyers who specialize in domestic violence cases who can help you get a restraining order and file for divorce. We have job counselors who can help you find work and childcare assistance so you can support yourself. We have therapists who can help you and your children process the trauma. We have everything you need to build a new life."
"I can’t afford any of that," she said, shaking her head. "I don’t have money—"
"It’s all free. Everything. That’s the point of the foundation. No woman should have to stay in an abusive situation because she can’t afford to leave."