It was a text from my father.

*Claire, you need to stop this. I know where you went.*

My hand began to shake as I read the next line.

*I called the clinic’s emergency contact. They are sending security up now to find you. It is the only way to keep you safe from them.*

“No,” I whispered, staring at the screen.

My father still believed he was protecting me from my own obsession. He thought I was losing my mind.

He didn’t understand that he had just handed me to the wolves.

I looked back at Alexander, panic rising in my chest.

I couldn’t carry him out of here. He was completely unresponsive.

I grabbed the digital tablet from the bedside table, pulling hard until the plastic bracket snapped with a loud crack.

I shoved the tablet and the paper charts into my bag.

These files were the only proof I had of what they were doing to him.

Then, I heard the distant chime of the elevator doors opening down the hall.

Heavy, rapid footsteps echoed on the hardwood portion of the corridor.