Minutes crawled by like centuries from Nathan’s point of view. Every second pressed down on his shoulders with a weight that felt crushing. The flat, steady beep of the machine still echoed in his head, a ghost that refused to leave even after the door had been tightly shut. He pushed himself away from the wall. His muscles were stiff, his body aching, the cold from the floor seeping straight into his bones.

Nathan’s gaze dropped to the tiny human in Karen’s arms. The woman looked at ...