"I need you!" Stella's voice, tight with urgency, crackled through the phone. Flora's breath hitched. A pregnant silence stretched between them, punctuated only by the frantic beat of Flora's heart.

"Right now?" Flora finally whispered, the question hanging in the air like a fragile butterfly. A moment later, a rush of relief – "I'm on my way!" – propelled her from the bed. She threw off the covers, the floral pattern a blur against the sudden panic blooming in her chest.

Leaving the ...