“He wouldn’t,” I breathed.

“Try him,” Diane said. “He’s already talking to a guard at the desk.”

Just then, my phone screen flashed with a second call waiting.

It was an internal hospital extension.

I looked at the screen, my heart hammering wild and fast against my ribs.

“Rachel?” Diane’s voice sharp in my ear. “Are you listening to me? Drop the locks.”

I clicked over to the other line, my hand shaking.

“This is Rachel,” I said.

“Rachel, it’s Lena,” the nurse’s voice came through, tense and urgent. “There’s a man downstairs at the security desk. He’s claiming to be your father, and he has two military police officers with him.”

“Do not let them up, Lena,” I whispered, clutching the plastic receiver until my knuckles turned white.

“He’s showing them some kind of power of attorney paper,” Lena said.

“And he’s telling them you’re experiencing a severe mental health crisis after the delivery.”

“It’s a lie,” I said.

“He is trying to gain access to my military files and my son.”

“The officers are taking him seriously, Rachel,” Lena said.