As the ambulance sped toward the hospital, the pain grew unbearable, but I kept repeating my mother’s words, clinging to them like a lifeline. Hold on. Just hold on.

The last thing I remembered before everything faded was the image of my child, a glimmer of hope and strength amid the darkness.

I wouldn’t let go—not now, not ever. I would survive this, for her, and build a future beyond the broken promises Derrick had left behind.