gray. Eleanor sat on a plush leather sofa, her sunglasses and a disposable face mask hidin

Adams, a kind-faced woman in her fifties, w

her voice gentle. "You're about six weeks

re the doctor handed her. It was just a blurry shape,

fierce instinct took over. Her hand moved to

Dr. Adams asked, noticing the tension in h

. She stood up, her voice dropping to a strained whisper

photo and tucked it into the deepe

elevators. Her mind was a chaotic storm of fear and confusion. A baby. How

he heard hurried footsteps approac

look

enses of her sungl

li

at billowing behind him. He was staring down a

er first impulse was to duck int

n caught her movement. He stopped, his he

d his phone into his pocket and walked toward her, h

er, looking down at her masked, d

re?" he asked, his voi

to inside suddenly feeling like a burning coal. "A che

f the building. She knew he'd seen the handful of paparazzi lurking outside. His mind, alwa

lly tight, and pulled her against the

ous whisper. "You found out Seraphina was bein

ation that she couldn't speak. She j

ying to pull her arm free. "I had n

he hematology department is on the fifth floor. Y

urns into a media circus, I will make sure you walk away fro

oman, hit her with the force of a physical blow. The ultr

ling. She stopped

s, hidden behind the sunglass

lent twist, she wr

he said, the words dr

backward glance, pressing the button for the ground floor.