Mary turned her head slightly toward me, her eyes softening for a brief second. “Thank you, Evelyn.”

But then her gaze snapped back to Ethan, and the fear returned, stronger than before.

“Did you take her?” Mary demanded, her voice cracking as she tried to sit up.

“Mary, don’t move,” Dr. Rao said, placing a gentle hand on her shoulder. “You must remain still.”

“Did you take my daughter, Ethan?” Mary asked, ignoring the doctor entirely.

“She is my daughter too, Mary,” Ethan said softly.

“No,” Mary whispered, tears finally welling in the corners of her eyes and running down her temples. “No, she isn’t.”

“She has your eyes,” Ethan said, his voice thick with an emotion he rarely showed. “She has your face.”

“She is innocent,” Mary said, her breath coming in short, shallow gasps. “She doesn’t know what you are.”

Ethan flinched as if he had been struck.

“I am trying to help,” he said.

“You don’t help,” Mary said, her voice shaking with a bitter, exhausted anger. “You buy things.”