Monrovia, Feb. 19 -- In more than three decades of public service, Jewel Howard-Taylor has stood at the center of Liberia's defining political chapters, serving as First Lady, as Senator, and as Vice President of the Republic. She has endured elections, controversies, triumphs, defeats, reconciliations, and national reckonings. She has spoken in moments of celebration and in times of crisis; she has defended policies, negotiated alliances, and carried the weight of public expectation. Yet, on a solemn afternoon filled with hymns, prayers, embraces, and tears, she confessed that none of those battles compares to the anguish now resting on her heart.

"This," she said quietly, pausing as emotion overtook her voice, "is the worst moment of m...