The Dean droned at the podium about duty, resilience, and the Hippocratic oath. I didn’t hear him.

My eyes were locked on the VIP family section to the right of the stage. They were there.

Thomas wore a magnificent charcoal suit, sitting tall, turning now and then to smile and wave at the three local news cameras in the aisles.

Karen sat beside him in a designer dress, dabbing at dry eyes whenever a camera panned her way.

Megan looked slightly bored but played her part, her phone tucked away. They looked like the perfect, proud, affluent American family.

I glanced to the shadowy wings of the stage. Laura stood mostly hidden behind the heavy velvet curtain, in a simple navy dress, looking nervous.