They had spent the whole summer acting careful. My mother clipped coupons in front of me and sighed over grocery prices. My father shook his head when I suggested one quiet weekend away together, like I had asked him to buy a second house instead of share a motel room and a diner breakfast. “This summer we’re staying in,” Mom told me. “It’s just too much.” I believed her because believing them had become a reflex, even after years of little disappointments. They knew I kept one reserve account for emergencies, and they knew my health was the reason I guarded it like oxygen. At 3:08 in the morning, my phone buzzed hard enough to wake me. The notification said $9,860 had been withdrawn from my reserve fund. I sat up so fast the room tilted, opened the banking app, and watched my own life turn into someone else’s vacation. There were first-class flights to Mykonos. There was a luxury suite, a private driver, designer shops, spa treatments, and restaurant holds that cost more than my rent. Every charge use

“Then you can hear it too.”

She stepped closer to the bed.

“I received a message from Owen.”

Audrey’s entire body went still.

“When?”

“Just before the network went down.”

“Where is he?”

“I don’t know.”

“What did he say?”

Seraphina held up her phone.

The screen was cracked, but a short message remained visible.

THE BABY WAS NEVER PART OF THE PLAN. GET AUDREY OUT.

Audrey read it twice.

“What plan?”

“He didn’t say.”

“Did you answer?”

“Yes. Nothing went through.”

Elena looked toward the neonatal corridor.

“We need to keep moving.”

Seraphina walked beside the bed.

“I’m coming with you.”

“You should leave the hospital,” Audrey said.

“I tried. The garage doors are locked, and security is gone.”

“Gone?”

“There was no one at the main desk.”

That did not feel like an accident.

The bed turned down another corridor.