At the hospital, as they bandaged my head and examined Lily, I felt a flood of emotions — anger, sadness, and disbelief. How had we come to this? A night meant for celebration had been turned into a nightmare. But as I watched Lily rest, her breathing steady and calm, I knew we’d find a way through this.

I held her hand, feeling her warmth, and vowed that I would never let anything like this happen again. Family should be about love and support, not deceit and violence. I resolved to rebuild, to create a safer world for my daughter, even if it meant redefining who belonged in it.

As I sat by Lily’s side, exhaustion weighing heavily on me, I realized that our new beginning would indeed come. Not in the way I had imagined, but perhaps in a way that was more necessary than I had ever understood before.