Josephine’s hand darted out like a snake.

Her long, manicured fingers closed around Leo’s heavy brass key ring.

She slipped them into the pocket of her wool coat without making a sound.

“Watch out!” Melanie yelled, pretending to get pushed by a passing nurse.

She shoved herself past the first guard, stumbling into the corridor.

Josephine followed her instantly, merging into the crowd of medical staff.

“Hey! Stop right there!” the guard shouted, but a doctor blocked his path.

By the time the hallway cleared, the heavy double doors were swinging shut.

They were gone.

Leo took a step toward the door, then stopped and looked back at me.

“Let them go,” I whispered, my voice dry. “Just let them go, Leo.”

He knelt by my bed and pressed his forehead against my arm.

“I’m so sorry, Grace,” he muttered. “I should have stopped them from coming here.”

The baby monitor on the bedside table hummed with the sound of Sam’s soft, congested breathing from the pediatric ward.

A few minutes later, two Des Moines police officers walked into my room.