called me at the Vermont spa, his vo

althy, Ava.

ng. The sile

illed. They want you h

ys legacy, heirs. My infertility, a result of saving their precious son, had always bee

e sterile, hushed atmosphere

ooing over the incubators. K

could make it." Her smil

the picture of beatific motherhood. Ethan hover

o me. "Ava. Thank you for

eld a glint of some

e you've been," she murmured, lo

felt a bitte

efly out of the room, Skyler asked t

ooed, holding up a tiny, swaddled ba

, her hand trembling as she held t

small, almost imperceptible movement, makin

she

ghtened my grip, s

ent, drawn by her gasp. Skyler looked

st... I don't kn

ardened. "Ava,

pened, Ethan

g softly. "I'm just so tired

vised" me to move to th

a. To recover. You're

hat it was. Pac

rooms, the silence pressing in. My luggage, meticulously packed by Maria, our loyal housekeeper, sat in the

s, the doctor's gentle words: "I'm so sorry, Ava. Your injurie

he'd said. He'd held me, promised it

heirs. And I was