CHAPTER SEVENTY-SEVEN - WHAT REMAINS UNSAID

    On the day of Carlos's discharge, Nia found herself alone with her father. There was a new vulnerability to him that tugged at her heart. "Papá," she began hesitantly. "I know we haven't always seen eye to eye, but I want you to know how much I love you. How scared I was of losing you." Carlos reached for her hand, his grip weaker than she remembered but still warm and familiar. "Mi niña," he said softly. "I owe you an apology. I've been hard on you, pushed you to be what I thought you should be. But seeing you these past few days, how strong you've been for your mother, for all of us... I realize now that you've become an incredible woman, all on your own." Tears welled in Nia's eyes as years of misunderstandings and hurt began to heal. They talked for hours, truly opening up to each other for the first time in years. When Elena and Luis returned with the discharge papers, they found father and daughter laughing together, hands still clasped. As Nia left the hospital that ev