Dahlia's POV
Every encounter with Cece left the same haunting image burned into my memory. His body bore the evidence of relentless suffering, each bruise and cut telling a story of endurance that no child should ever have to write.
Cece had abandoned his education during middle school. Intelligence was never the issue. Survival was. He worked tirelessly to keep food on the table while caring for his chronically ill younger brother. And when darkness fell, he became his father's punching bag.
There was a time when Cece represented everything we thought we wanted. A complete family. Two parents, a sibling, and a modest but stable home. His father earned steady wages at the local factory while his mother devoted herself to nursing their sick child.
