in the window, a pale, blank-faced woman superimposed over the

the seat beside her.

ointment, love?

rt. Her fingers hovered over the keyboard, a thousand furious repl

Dr. Miller said I ju

thing the old Chloe, the trusting Chloe

of the Manhattan County Clerk's Office. She paid the driver, opene

g of wet wool coats and old paper. A security guard gave her a cursory gl

e wall blinked with changing numbers. The room was filled with couples, their faces bright with excitement, the

s a physical ac

-4

and disconnected from her body. She walked to the designated counter, a

nder the barrier. "I need to requ

ngers tapping rhythmical

er own name sounded foreign. "The da

yped again. "I'm not finding anything under those

he counter. "Could you check again?

ter system, her movements slow and deliberate. After a moment, she shook her head. "No, ma

e felt like an eternity. Chloe's heart hammered against her ribs, a frantic, trapped bird. A t

gle, blank request form. She shoo

Hayes and a Julian Sterling in the state of New York." She pushed a printout across the cou

ng

ver of hope didn't just die; it was brutally executed. She picked up the

she managed

posture rigid. Each step was a conscious

stood under the building's awning, the official do

clamped a hand over her mouth, stumbled to a nearby tr

r hand on her flat stomach. The baby. The potential baby they had been trying for. A

grotesque, it cla

were steady. She searched for a nearby women's health clinic, on

cks away. She called, h

ment for a consultation," sh

miling families on diaper packages and cheerful greeting cards. She found the vitamin aisle and picked up a bo

man with a friendly smile, scanned t

ted. She forced her lips into something that was sup

It was time to go home. Home to the spy Julian had installed as the