“I have the paperwork drafted,” Victoria said, pulling a laptop from her bag. “I just need Emma’s signature on the petition.”

I looked at the bassinet where Ethan lay, his tiny fists pressed against his cheeks.

He was so small, so innocent.

I could not let Margaret and Ryan take him to that cold, controlling estate.

“Give me the pen,” I said.

Victoria handed me a heavy metal pen.

My hand shook as I signed my name at the bottom of the petition.

“Now we file electronically,” Victoria said, typing quickly on her laptop. “It will be logged in the system within ten minutes.”

Laura squeezed my shoulder.

“You’re doing the right thing, Emma,” she said.

“I’m terrified,” I admitted.

“You have us,” Thomas said. “I’m not going anywhere.”

Suddenly, the light in the hallway flickered.

The quiet of the hospital ward was broken by a loud knock on the door.

It wasn’t a gentle knock. It was a heavy, authoritative pound.

The door opened before anyone could answer.

A man in a dark suit, carrying a manila envelope, stepped into the room.