Chapter 57

• JUDY’S POV
• I had been staying by my father’s side the entire time, unable to leave him for even a moment. His condition weighed on me like a heavy stone, each passing hour filling me with a sense of helplessness and guilt.
• My mother, too, had been deeply affected. Overnight, the stress and anguish had aged her; her face had grown pale and hollow, and dark circles lingered beneath her tired eyes. She looked frail, a shadow of the strong woman I had always known.