A few days later, Lilly found her way to Nathan’s hospital room. The space was modest but bright, sunlight slipping through the half-drawn blinds to rest softly on the pale sheets.

“Thank you,” Lilly said quietly, her voice steady but carrying an undercurrent of emotion. “You kept your promise, you brought my daughter.”

Nathan shifted uncomfortably on the edge of his bed, fingers twitching. Memories fluttered at the edges of his mind—fragments of a past he both feared and yearned ...