That morning, I was convinced something terrible had happened to my daughter. Seeing her return home at 4 a.m., exhausted and emotionally drained, I feared she had been deeply hurt. As the truth slowly emerged, however, I realized the story was far more complicated than I had imagined.
What I initially saw as a sign of damage was, in reality, evidence of a young woman who had been placed under immense pressure. Ellie had made a difficult choice, not out of selfishness or recklessness, but because she was trying to help, protect, and avoid becoming a burden to the people she loved.
