At the police station, Penny was hauled into an interrogation room, and that was when the nerves really set in.


    Previously, the cops had given her nothing more than a verbal warning for the abuse she''d inflicted on Pattie, given the fact that Penny had a son to look after. But it was pretty clear that those actions hadn''t done squat. Sitting on the cold hard chair, facing two cops, Penny was scared out of her wits. "Officers, did I break thew? I just hit my daughter, is that a crime now? Kids need discipline, right? Was my method of parenting wrong?"


    One of the cops grilling Penny was a woman, a mother herself, and was boiling mad over Penny''s actions. She tossed a picture of Pattie''s injuries in front of Penny.


    "What kind of mother beats her kid like this?" she snapped. "That child''s in critical condition, and she''s just a little girl. How could you have the heart to do this to her?"


    "I didn''t mean to, I just couldn''t control my strength. That''s just my temper." Penny feigned concern. "How''s Pattie doing? Has her fever gone down?"


    "You''re only asking about her now, Penny?" another cop, a man, joined in. "Here''s the hospital''s medical report. Pattie''s injuries are severe. You''vemitted serious child abuse. Our country''sw dictates that for child abuse of this severity, you''re looking at jail time." "What, prison?" Penny was terrified and started bawling her eyes out. "I can''t go to prison, I have a son to look after. Pattie was just being too naughty, I lost my temper and hit her, that''s all. You have to believe me.""


    The female cop said coldly, "Pattie isn''t your biological daughter. You adopted her two years ago, and you''ve severely vited the adoption agreement. Penny, you abused Pattie, and you''re going to have to face the music."


    "I didn''t abuse her." Penny sobbed. "You can''t pin this on me. Even though Pattie isn''t my own flesh and blood, I''ve always treated her like my own. I sent her to school, gave her milk every day, and even bought her new clothes. I didn''t abuse her."


    The male cop rapped on the table. "Calm down. This is a police station. We''ve checked with your neighbors about you abusing Pattie. This isn''t up for debate anymore."


    While Penny was in full denial, Leo''s case was a different story. Facing the cops'' grilling, Leo was way more cooperative. He said, "When Pattie first came to us, we were both thrilled. My wife was kind to Pattie, buying her new clothes and toys. But after we had our own child, my wife changed..."


    Leo described Pattie''s ordeal but tried to y it down. "My wife has a temper and would asionally hit Pattie. I work a lot, so I wasn''t fully aware of what was going on. Officers, I promise, we''ll make amends. We''ll treat our child well, and I won''t let my wife do this to her again."


    "Leo, take a look at this report on Pattie''s injuries, the photos, and the testimonies we got from your neighbors." The cop handed him the documents. "Pattie''s just a kid, and you guys were beating her with a stick. That''s against thew."


    Hearing this, Leo went pale. After reading the report and looking at the photos, he was filled with shame. He knew Penny had been beating Pattie with a stick, and yet he did nothing. His silence was just as bad. Everyone in the neighborhood knew about Penny''s abuse. That was a fact.


    Leo was silent for a long time before he asked, "Officer, is there any way we can avoid jail? My wife is just an ignorant woman, and she still has to look after our young son. I need to work. If she goes to jail, our family will fall apart. You''re the police. You''re supposed to help us through our hardships in life."/