“She’s been secretly working part-time jobs behind my back. Spending the money in all the wrong places. I only found out today—and my heart shattered.”

She wiped at her eyes with her sleeve, her voice thick with grief.

“She’s always been such a sensible child… someone must have misled her. I’ve worked so hard, given her everything—even if I suffered, I never let her suffer. But she insists on going out to work, saying she wants to be independent.”