The message came at 2:14 a.m.

"You've ignored me long enough, Damian. I'm five months along. You've missed everything - every scan, every sleepless night. Do you even care? Or are you pretending this baby doesn't exist?"

Damian stared at the glowing screen in silence, the words slicing through him sharper than any knife. He'd tried to bury Isla in the chaos - drown her voice in guilt, in regret, in the noise of losing Elena - but she always found a way to reach through the cracks.

He dropped ...