The world stopped.
Sound vanished.
My senses were gone, my eyesight narrowed to a bleak spot on the concrete. I could see a shape lying there, but I couldn’t recognize it. My mind wouldn’t accept it.
Then time snapped back, and I was on my knees beside them, the concrete biting through my pants.
"Millie." My voice was barely human. "Millie, baby, open your eyes."
"She just ran out…" Claire's words came in fractured gasps. "The ball rolled toward the driveway. I… I… I told her to wait?—"
"Is she breathing?"
"Yes. Yes, I think so. I called 911."
"Millie, sweetheart, can you hear Daddy?" I touched her face, her cheek still warm, still soft. "Stay with me, pumpkin. Just stay with me."
Her chest rose and fell. Shallow. Rapid. But there.
She's breathing. Oh God, she's breathing.
I looked up and saw Victoria's silver Porsche idling a few feet away, the driver's door hanging open. She stood by the hood, one hand pressed to her mouth.
"I didn't see her," she said, her voice unnaturally high. "She came out of nowhere?—"
"You didn't see her?" I stood slowly, turning to face her. "You just stormed out of my office. You were furious. And now my daughter is lying unconscious on the driveway."
"It was an accident?—"
"An accident?" I took a step toward her. "You threatened to destroy me five minutes ago. And now this?"
"Nate, I swear—" Tears were streaming down her face now, but I didn’t care. As far as I was concerned, this was a calculated move. "It was a mistake! I was too angry to see her! I'll call an ambulance?—"
"Already called!" Claire shouted, her voice breaking. She was holding Millie's uninjured hand, tears streaming silently down her cheeks.
"The cameras caught everything," I said, my voice dropping to something cold and quiet. "I don’t carewhatit was, what you meant. I don’t care about anything.You are DONE, Victoria.'"
Victoria's face crumpled, not in remorse, but in the realization that she'd finally gone too far to spin her way out of.
"I didn't mean?—"
"Save it for your lawyer."
The wail of sirens cut through the air, growing closer. I dropped back to my knees beside Millie, my rage temporarily supplanted by terror so profound it was physical pain.
"The ambulance is coming, pumpkin." I stroked her hair, avoiding the blood. "Daddy's here. Just hold on."
Claire's hand found my arm, her fingers ice-cold. Our eyes met over Millie's still form, a shared devastation that stripped away every barrier between us. No titles. No professional distance. Just two people united in desperate prayer for one small life.
The paramedics arrived, calm and efficient, their movements practiced. They eased us aside, working with urgency. Strapping Millie to a board. Fitting a collar around her neck. Speaking in codes I couldn't decipher.
"I'm going with her," Claire said, her voice steadier now.
"Yes." I gripped her hand briefly. "Don't let her be alone. I will be there soon. Let me sort Victoria out."
She nodded and climbed into the ambulance, her eyes never leaving Millie's face. The doors closed, and they were gone, lights flashing, siren screaming.
I turned to Victoria.
