Through the crack, I heard his voice rise as he spoke to my father.

“Mr. Mitchell, I need you and your wife to leave the hospital premises immediately,” Miller said.

“This is public property,” Richard’s voice boomed back. “My daughter is in there.”

“This is a military facility, sir,” Miller replied. “And you are currently interfering with a military police investigation.”

“On what grounds?” Richard demanded.

“Treasury fraud and identity theft,” Miller said flatly.

There was a long silence in the hallway.

Then, I heard the heavy scuff of my father’s orthopedic shoes moving toward the exit.

My mother’s heels clicked rapidly behind him, fading down the corridor.

Lena exhaled a long breath and walked over to my bedside.

“They’re gone for now,” she said. “But you need to rest.”

“I can’t rest, Lena,” I said, looking at my sleeping son.

His small chest rose and fell under the blue-and-pink striped blanket.

“They have my grandmother hidden in a facility two hours away,” I said.

“And they are using her to fund whatever lifestyle they’re trying to maintain.”

My phone buzzed again in my hand.