The hospital room smelled of bleach and cold white lilies.

Alvaro had ordered the flowers from Barcelona.

The card beside them was signed by his secretary.

My triplets were asleep in their plastic bassinets, their tiny chests rising and falling in unison.

I zipped my leather duffel bag.

The metal teeth of the zipper made a sharp, clean sound in the quiet room.

“The driver is waiting downstairs, Señora,” Matthew said.

He stood near the heavy oak door, his hands clasped behind his back.

His knuckles were white.

“Are the security cameras handled?” I asked.

“Yes,” Matthew said. “The hallway feed will show nothing for the next ten minutes.”

I looked at the bedside table.

A thick manila envelope sat next to an untouched glass of water.

Inside was the petition for divorce and full, exclusive custody.

Alvaro’s name was printed in bold black ink at the top of the first page.

“He is still in Barcelona,” I said.

“He left Lucía’s apartment an hour ago,” Matthew replied.

“He thinks I am still resting.”

“His private flight lands at Barajas in twenty minutes,” Matthew said.

I touched the soft cheek of my daughter, Sofia.

She stirred but did not wake.

Her brothers, Leo and Bruno, lay beside her.

They were only four days old.

“We need to move now, Inés,” Matthew whispered.

He used my first name, a rare slip of his usual discipline.

I nodded and picked up the first car seat.

Matthew took the other two, his arms steady despite his pale face.

We walked down the private corridor of the clinic.

The nursing station was empty.

The staff had been paid to look the other way.

The Madrid rain was hitting the glass windows of the lobby.

Outside, a black Mercedes van waited with its engine idling.

The exhaust rose like gray steam in the cold afternoon air.

We secured the babies in the back row.

I climbed in beside them, the leather seats cold against my legs.

Matthew closed the heavy door.

He did not get in.

He stood under the concrete awning, watching me through the tinted glass.

He knew what else was missing besides his boss’s family.