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Hunter stood by Vanessa’s side, across the room to give them some privacy.
“Can you first tell me your name?” Nicholas asked.
Opal’s voice was barely more than a whisper. “Opal Powers.”
“And who do you live with?”
“Mommy.”
“Where’s your daddy?”
“I don’t know.” She looked to Vanessa, who nodded and smiled.
“Do you miss your daddy?”
Opal shrugged and put her hands between her knees.
“Do you wish you could see your daddy?”
“Sometimes.”
Nicholas took notes on his clipboard each time she answered. “Do you ever feel scared around either of your parents?”
“Sometimes.”
“When do you feel scared?”
Opal looked over at Vanessa, but didn’t respond.
“It’s okay, honey,” Vanessa said. “Just tell the truth about Daddy.”
“Umm,” Opal said. “With my daddy.”
“You feel scared when you’re with your daddy?”
Opal looked over at Vanessa, then nodded.
“Why?”
Opal swallowed hard and took a long time to answer. This time, she looked at her feet instead of over at her mother. “He yells sometimes and throws things.”
“Has he or your mommy ever hurt you?”
She nodded.
“Who has hurt you?”
Opal looked over at Vanessa, waiting for the okay to go ahead and tell the truth.
“Just tell him what happened when you had to go to the hospital,” Vanessa said.
Then Opal said, “Daddy hurt me.”
“Daddy and not Mommy?”
She shook her head.
“Has Mommy ever hurt you?”
