I shove the phone at him. He reads the message, jaw clenching so hard I hear the grind. “She wouldn’t,” he mutters.
“She would,” I choke. “Drive.”
The tripto Haven Crest blurs—road, trees, lights, my pulse pounding loud and relentless. I keep calling Priscilla. Every call goes to voicemail.
Every unanswered ring feels like a countdown.
By the time we burst through the front doors of Haven Crest, I’m shaking. Nurses scatter at the sight of my expression. I sprint for the medical wing, Anna’s wing with Caden right behind me.
We skid around the last corner?—
And stop dead.
Priscilla and Maxwell stand outside a conference room with two hospital administrators and a physician I know by name but never by his compassion. Papers sit on a clipboard and my aunt has a pen parched in her hand.
My stomach drops.
“NO!” I shout, rushing forward. “Stop—stop, please—don’t do this!”
All four heads turn.
Relief hits me first when I realize the documents haven’t been signed. That the machines connected to Anna haven’t beenturned off. But fear follows immediately. They’re close. One signature close.
Priscilla’s expression curdles. “So you finally decided to show up.”
“Aunt Priscilla, please,” I beg. “She’s still here. She’s still fighting. Don’t take her from me.”
My aunt lifts her chin, eyes cold and sharp. “You had weeks to help her. Instead, you chose yourself. You chose your whims. And now Anna is paying the price—just like your parents did.”
I freeze.
The words hit like a knife sliding between ribs.
“What?” My breathing is painful against my lungs.
“Don’t pretend you don’t know.” Her voice is poisonous. “Your parents died because of you. And if Anna dies, that will be on your conscience as well.”
I stumble back, recoiling as if physically struck. Caden’s body goes rigid beside me. Coiled anger vibrating through him.
“That’s enough,” he snaps, stepping between us. “You don’t get to stand there and rewrite trauma just to control her.”
“Stay out of this,” Priscilla hisses. “This is family business.”
“I’m her husband,” he fires back. “Which makes her part of my family. And I’m done letting you abuse her because you enjoy it.”
Maxwell sputters. “How dare?—”
“Shut up,” Caden growls.
For a moment, everything teeters—anger, grief, fear, all balanced on a knife’s edge. Then I push past them, heart thundering, racing toward Anna’s room.
I throw the door open?—
And freeze.
The bed is empty.
Sheets folded.
