Stephen had been gone for exactly seven hours when Layla told me about the box.

It was a rare two-day trip to visit his mother in another state, leaving me and our six-year-old daughter to ourselves. We'd had an easy, slow evening with mac and cheese for dinner, cartoons playing in the background, and Layla's little legs curled up beside me on the couch.

"Want to play hide-and-seek before bed?" I asked, nudging her shoulder.

Hide-and-seek had become Layla's favorite game for a while now.

Layla hesitated, her fingers twisting the hem of her pajama shirt.

"I don't think I should, Momma," she mumbled.

"Why not? Is this because you want to have ice cream and watch more cartoons?" I asked.

I expected Layla to give me a sly smile and nod. But instead, my daughter's face turned, and she grabbed onto the cushion tightly.

She glanced toward the garage door, small shoulders tensing.

"Last time I played with Daddy, he got mad. I don't like hide-and-seek anymore."

A knot tightened in my stomach.

Stephen? Angry at Layla? That didn't make sense.

My husband was patient, kind, and the most devoted father I could have ever given my child. He'd never once raised his voice at her. I mean, even if I raised my voice at Layla, Stephen would come running to her rescue.

He would pick her up and cuddle her.

"We don't do this, Piper," he would say. "Raised voices hurt feelings. They don't fix anything. They don't teach anything. They just... ruin things."

Now, looking at Layla, I kept my tone light.

"Why did he get mad, sweetheart? You can tell me."

"Because I hid in the garage when we were playing," Layla said, hesitating.

The knot tightened.

"And what happened in the garage?" I asked, smoothing her hair back.

My daughter squirmed, looking down at her hands.

"Dad couldn't find me. He thought I was inside, so I just stayed here waiting for him. But I got bored and looked in one of the boxes. When he found me, he took the box away really fast."

"What was in the box, honey?"

Layla scrunched her nose as she tried to remember.

"I think it was just paper," she said. "But I wanted to find the Christmas lights!"

Lord bless her little heart, I thought.

"Layla, what did Dad say?" I pressed on.