Seeing the smile on her mother's face, Grace's tension eased a bit. She took her hand and squeezed it gently. "I'm here, Mom. I just stepped out briefly to deal with something."
After that, there was silence between them, broken only by the sounds of the hospital equipment.
Grace could see the weariness in her mother's eyes, the burden of secrets she was carrying. The tension from earlier was still thick in the air, and Grace knew they couldn't keep avoiding the conversation.
"Mom," Grace began, keeping her voice gentle but firm, "I need you to tell me everything that happened today. What exactly did they say to you?"
Her mother's eyes shifted away, but Grace held her gaze, refusing to let her hide. "I need to know, Mom. If I'm going to protect you so that this does not reoccur, I need to understand what we're dealing with."
"There's nothing to protect me from or understand. I saw everything with my own eyes," Belinda uttered, her voice tinged with agony.
