As I lay there, hidden beneath the shroud of a stretcher, my mind raced with the chaos of betrayal and bewilderment. Everything felt surreal, as if I were trapped in a nightmare from which there was no waking. I could hear the distant murmur of first responders, their voices muffled yet urgent. The world above was a maelstrom of activity, but all I could focus on was the chilling revelation that my own flesh and blood had attempted to end my life.
In that moment, the weight of my daughter’s actions pressed heavily upon my chest, suffocating me more than the seatbelt that had once pinned me to my seat. How had we come to this point? Where had the love gone wrong? My mind replayed fragments of Emily’s childhood — her first steps, her graduation, family vacations where her laughter had filled the air like sunshine. Where had that child, my child, disappeared to?
