My 7-year-old stays with my ex.

My seven-year-old daughter stays with my ex during the week. Then one night my phone rang, and her shaky voice cut through the silence—“Mom, please… it’s freezing. It’s dark. I’m so scared.” I raced to his house. She was locked in the backyard shed, curled up in the corner and shaking.
Mia Reynolds, my seven-year-old, lives with my ex-husband on weekdays. It’s the custody arrangement the court ordered—one I follow even though every instinct in me hates it. Judges talk about “stability” like it matters more than a mother’s intuition.

That Tuesday at 9:47 p.m., my phone rang.

“Mia?” I answered, already on my feet. She wasn’t supposed to call that late.

Her voice came in thin, broken pieces, like she was fighting back sobs. “Mommy… help. It’s so cold. It’s pitch-black. I’m scared.”

My chest tightened. “Where are you? Are you inside?”

“No,” she whispered. “He put me… in the shed.”