He’d done it. He’d paid his debt.

“Okay, little bird,” he whispered, shifting to stand and transfer her back to the incubator. “Watch is over. You’re safe now.”

Chapter 5 — The Mother

But the universe rarely allows a quiet victory.

Just as he shifted his weight, the secure double doors of the NICU didn’t open — they were shoved violently apart, slamming the magnetic stops with a sound like a gunshot.

“Where is she?!” a voice shrieked, shattering the quiet.

I spun around. A young woman, no older than twenty-two, vibrated with frantic energy in the doorway. Tessa. The mother.