He was the chief of obstetrics at the hospital.

And he was the man currently supervising Megan’s care.

My phone buzzed in my pocket, the vibration startling me.

I pulled it out and looked at the screen.

It was a text from the nurse at the hospital desk.

“Jake, you need to get back here.”

“Dr. Chen is discharging Megan.”

“He says she is being transferred to a private psychiatric facility.”

My thumb hovered over the screen, my heart stopping.

They weren’t waiting for the bail hearing tomorrow.

They were moving her tonight.

I slammed the truck into gear and tore out of the alley.

The tires spun on the patches of black ice on the pavement.

I checked my rearview mirror, expecting to see headlights behind me.

The street was empty, but the silence felt worse than a pursuit.

I drove toward the Pilsen neighborhood, the city lights blurred by the snow on my windshield.

I needed to get to Megan before Dr. Chen signed the transfer papers.

If they moved her to a private facility, I would never get her out. My mother’s lawyers would make sure of that.