ed again. It was his assistant, Ethan Sh

detail. "Mr. Astor requests that you check out of this hotel immediately. If you ever approach his son again, our

was suicide. She needed to be smarter. She

leave. "Your employer is staying in the suite next door. Did it not occur to

se, or perhaps irritation at the oversight-

ilda closed the door b

oice piped up. "Mommy, why did that mean man

fter than she felt. "That little boy is a patient who needs my help. And that man

ferenced photos, timelines, and facial recognition data. Ten minutes later, a file appeared on Matilda's phone. It contained a detailed dossier on Julian Astor IV. At the bottom, Caleb had added a s

ment she saw Leo's face. Julian was the father of all three children. He had seen them-barged into her suite and stared directly at

blet. They had her determination, her resilience. But they also had Julian's sharp inte

mething unbreakable. She had to get Leo back. N

Leo despite Julian's order to leave the

ng lobby of the Astor Medical Center. Her mentor, Dr. Allen F

te corridor. "We have a case-a very special case-that has had our en

allway broken only by the quiet hum of medical equi

seemed to burn through

sults. Surgical notes. Medication logs. But the name at the top. Leo Astor. Her son, reduced to a case number and a list of symptoms. Five years of suffering documented in clini

xury hotel suite than a hospital room. A small boy in crisp, monogrammed paja

ise and then unmistakable joy lighting up his pale face. The sa

, to never let go. The name "Leo" was a physical weight on her tongue.

Mr. Astor," she said, addressing the five-year-old boy with chillin

erent from anyone else, as if she were afraid he might disappear. She hadn't said much. But the way she had looked at him, the way her voice had caught on his

u-" Leo

efore he could say more in front of Dr. Foster. She met his eyes and held them, w

cious. Today, she was all business-clipboard, stethoscope, formal words. He didn't know which version was real. Maybe neither.

ething inside her crack. She was doing the right thing. The only thi