Everyone Watched in Silence as I Hugged the Boy Who Took My Daughter’s Life — But What I Said in Court Changed Everything

The sterile hum of the trauma ward on Christmas Eve had become a kind of ritual in my life. Holidays in the ER meant more injuries, more chaos, more critical choices. But this year, the ache wasn’t just in the broken bodies—it was in my heart. Because while I stitched wounds and monitored vitals, my daughter Sophie, just sixteen, was …