Jake’s POV

I didn’t even mean to listen.

I swear I wasn’t trying to eavesdrop, I was only walking toward her room because the doctor said we could move Ethan into a more comfortable ward, and I wanted to tell her before we left. But the closer I got, the clearer her voice became. Quiet. Shaky. Afraid.

And then I heard Lucia’s name.

I stopped.

Not because I wanted to, but because something inside me froze, that instinct I’ve lived with all my life. The one that warns me ...