My Grandson Called Me In The Middle Of The Night: ‘Grandma, I’m At The Station… My Stepfather Told Me To Leave, And Now He’s Saying I Caused Trouble, And They Took His Word!’ When I Arrived At The Station, The Officer Paused And Said, ‘I’m Sorry… I DIDN’T KNOW.’

Once the door closed behind the reluctant officer, Tyler’s shoulders slumped. “I didn’t do what they’re saying.

Grandma, I swear.”

“I know,”

I assured him, guiding him back to sit down. “Now tell me everything from the beginning. Don’t leave anything out.”

Tyler’s account flowed more freely now that we were alone.

He described how Jennifer had been working night shifts three times a week since they’d moved in with Robert, leaving the two of them alone in the house. “Robert,” he explained, had been increasingly controlling, establishing rules that seemed designed to isolate Tyler from his friends and family back in Boston. “He’s been reading my texts,” Tyler continued, monitoring who I talk to.

“Last week, he told mom that my calls with you were excessive and that I was too dependent on my grandmother. Mom just said we should try to make things work with him.”

My heart ached for both of them. Tyler caught in an impossible situation and Jennifer so desperate for stability after Michael’s death that she couldn’t see the control tactics for what they were.

“Tonight he found me on the phone with you and just lost it,” Tyler explained. “Said I was undermining his authority in his own house. When he grabbed for my phone, I pulled back and he saw I’d been recording some of the stuff he’s been saying.”

“The recordings?”

I said, suddenly alert to their importance.

“Where is your phone now?”

“Robert has it. When his police friends showed up, he told them it was evidence of me planning to attack him. They just took his word for everything.”

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