If I don’t make it through this birth, Chloe wrote, and I am writing this because some part of me is afraid I won’t, then I need you to do something for me, the most important thing I will ever ask you.

Please keep my son safe.

Julian Vance cannot ever know that he exists.

Do you understand me, Mom?

He cannot know.

If he ever finds out he has another child out here, a child with no protection, he will not see a grandchild or a little boy.

He will see a threat, a threat to his family and his legacy and his career, a loose end, and he is a man who makes his loose ends disappear.

Keep my baby hidden from him.