He held it to his ear, his eyes never leaving my face.

“Ruth,” he said when the call connected. “It’s Daniel. We have a situation.”

He walked toward the window, his voice dropping to a low murmur as he explained the plan.

I watched his silhouette against the rainy glass.

He looked smaller without the weight of his company on his shoulders, but he also looked solid.

For the first time since I had come to work at the estate, he looked like a father who was willing to fight.

But as the pain in my chest deepened, I wondered if we were already too late.

The monitor beside me let out a sharp, continuous beep.

The door to my room flew open.

A nurse I hadn’t seen before stood in the doorway, her face pale.

“Mr. Whitmore,” she said, her voice breathless. “You need to look at this.”

She held out a tablet, the screen glowing brightly in the dark room.

Daniel took the tablet from the nurse’s hand.

His brow furrowed as he stared at the screen.