his chair, visibly stunned.

The judge issued a temporary order granting me sole physical and legal custody. Julian was ordered to provide child support based on his corporate salary, while his visitation was limited to supervised hours at a family center until the required evaluations and counseling recommendations could be completed.

When the judge finished explaining her ruling, I lowered my head and quietly cried.

I wasn’t emotional because I believed I had defeated Julian. I was emotional because for months, I had lived with the frightening possibility of my children’s bedrooms becoming empty. I had imagined waking up inside a silent home, wondering whether they felt frightened somewhere else without me there to comfort them.

Now, I could finally breathe again.

When I walked into the lobby, Mateo dropped his crayons and ran directly into my arms.

“Did we win?” he asked, staring into my eyes.

I knelt