“I am his father!” Ethan yelled.

A nurse at the reception desk down the hall looked up, her hand hovering over the telephone.

“Mr. Parker,” Detective Miller said, stepping into the light. “I suggest you calm down. You’re interfering with a police investigation.”

Ethan looked at the detective, then back at my father.

“This is a family matter,” Ethan said, though his confidence was wavering. “You have no right to keep me from my son.”

“I have every right to protect my family from predators,” my father said.

He pulled his own phone from his pocket.

He didn’t look at Ethan as he unlocked it.

“Who are you calling?” Ethan asked, his voice rising in panic. “The press? You wouldn’t dare.”

“I’m calling Judge Vance,” my father said, his voice flat.

Ethan froze.

“He’s a federal judge, Ethan,” my father continued. “A close friend of mine from my time at Fort Meade. He is currently on duty.”

“What are you doing?” Ethan whispered.

“I am securing an emergency protective order,” my father said, holding the phone to his ear. “By tonight, you, your mother, and your sister will be legally barred from coming within five hundred yards of Hannah or Owen.”