“I know.”
She looked at him.
“What do you mean?”
Thomas hesitated.
“They told me you were too busy. They said you were building your career and didn’t need an old man worrying you with his problems.”
A cold feeling settled in Elena’s chest.
Not because she believed every detail yet. She had spent years in courtrooms learning that emotions could blur facts. Evidence mattered. Truth needed patience.
But her father’s sadness was something she couldn’t ignore.
“Dad, why didn’t you tell a doctor? A neighbor? Anyone?”
Thomas gave a small, tired smile.
“When you are eighty years old, people start making decisions for you before they ask what you think.”
A knock came from the other side of the door.
“Everything okay in there?” Chloe called.
