Just then, a young nurse burst into the room, her eyes wide with panic.

“Colonel Langley?” she said, looking from me to General Vale.

“What is it?” I asked, a cold dread washing over me.

“There’s a man at the secure entrance of the neonatal nursery,” the nurse said. “He has a notary and a legal representative with him. He’s demanding to sign the acknowledgment of paternity and take the baby.”

I threw the white hospital blanket off my legs, ignoring the sharp, burning pain in my abdomen.

“Tessa, no,” Naomi said, grabbing my shoulder. “You just had major surgery.”

“I don’t care,” I said, swinging my legs over the edge of the bed.

The pain was blinding, but the thought of Grant touching my daughter made it fade into background noise.

I stood up, my knees shaking violently under my hospital gown.

“I’ll handle this, Colonel,” General Vale said, his hand resting on his belt.

“No, sir,” I said, gripping the metal IV pole to keep myself upright. “She is my daughter. He is not taking her.”