They were all staring at their own screens, lost in their own mornings.

I leaned against the metal pole in the center of the car.

My phone vibrated again in my pocket.

My heart leaped into my throat as I pulled it out.

It was not another message from Daniel.

It was an alert from the security system at my mother’s hospital wing.

The screen showed a notification that the visitor log for Helen’s room had just been updated.

A chill ran down my spine.

Daniel was at the airfield, but someone else had just checked into my mother’s room.

I tapped the screen to view the live camera feed of the corridor.

A tall figure in a dark trench coat was standing just outside her door.

The man in the trench coat turned his head toward the lens of the security camera.

It was Victor Vance, the chief of security for the Carter family estate.

He held a leather folder under his left arm.

My fingers shook as I pinched the screen to zoom in on his face.