Chapter 52 - Chapter 16 & 17: A Desperate Choice

Liam Taylor leaned against the cracked wall of his small apartment, staring out the grimy window at the faded skyline of his rundown neighborhood. The setting sun cast a golden hue over the rooftops, but for Liam, the beauty was lost amid the shadows of his reality. At seventeen, he had learned to navigate a world filled with uncertainty and despair. His father had walked out when Liam was just a child, leaving him to shoulder the burden of his mother's emotional turmoil. She spent most days trapped in a haze, her mind wandering while he took care of her and tried to hold their household together.