It was such a simple word, yet hearing it nearly broke through every wall I had built.
I focused on her voice.
I focused on breathing.
And then I heard the most beautiful sound of my life.
My daughter cried.
It was a strong, indignant cry, as though she had arrived prepared to protest everything that had happened before her first breath.
The nurse smiled as she placed the baby against my chest.
“There she is.”
My hands trembled as I held her.
She was warm, tiny, and wonderfully real.
All the fear I had carried during the previous months loosened its grip at once.
I looked across the room.
Daniel had stopped arguing.
For a brief moment, he stared at the child he had tried to turn into a key for his own ambition.
I held her closer.
“You chose the wrong mother to underestimate,” I told him.
Daniel opened his mouth, but Agent Cole interrupted.
“We also arrested Dr. Keller thirty minutes ago.”
Daniel’s face changed.
Dr. Keller was one of the physicians whose signature appeared on the fabricated evaluations.
“He admitted that you paid him to alter Mrs. Vale’s records and prepare an unauthorized transfer request,” Agent Cole continued. “He also provided copies of your communications.”
Lila stepped away from Daniel.
“You told me Maya was genuinely ill,” she said. “You said the hospital had already approved everything.”
Daniel turned toward her.
“This is not the time to panic.”
