Lucas and I had chosen her name together.
Amelia Rose Gallagher.
I had imagined him holding her first.
Instead, I whispered the words he would have said.
“Daddy loves you so much.”
Then I cried until there were no tears left.
The following morning, Samantha came to the hospital with news.
Charles had been arrested.
The police had reviewed footage from our doorbell camera.
It showed him pulling me through the doorway by my hair, pushing me outside, and throwing my belongings after me.
The footage also recorded Courtney laughing as I said my water had broken.
My father had claimed he was merely helping an emotional daughter leave a stressful situation.
The recording told a different story.
He was facing assault-related charges, with further investigation underway.
Courtney had given a statement claiming she never touched me.
That was true.
But the investigators were far more interested in the documents bearing my forged signature.
