*/
    protected String extractJsonString(final String json, final String key) {
        try {
            final String cleanJson = stripCodeFences(json);
            final JsonNode root = objectMapper.readTree(cleanJson);
            final JsonNode node = root.get(key);
            if (node != null && node.isTextual()) {
                return node.asText();
            }
        } catch (final Exception e) {