Mom and Dad wanted to come - they had wanted to since the first day - but we couldn't let them. They were well enough known to the media and they would have led to our hideout. We had either a video chat or zoom call once a day.

I quit my offshore job and stayed with her. It was as difficult a task as I'd ever done. She was a mass of cuts and stitches. It would be difficult to assess the long-term damage till she had healed, and the stitches removed. She didn't appear to have any nerve damage except for minor tingling in her left hand. The...