“Do you share custody?”

“Yes. Week by week. This was her week.”

“We’ll need to file a child abandonment report, Mr. Carter.”

“Do whatever you need to do. I just want to know if my daughter is okay.”

Later, the doctor came back.

“She’s stable. She has a mild intestinal infection from dehydration and not eating. We’re keeping her for observation. You got here in time. One more day and this could have ended very differently.”

Ryan finally let out the breath he’d been holding. Ethan squeezed his hand.

“Can I see her?”

“In a little while. She’s sleeping now, but she’s okay.”

Ethan nodded, then asked, “And Mom?”

Ryan swallowed hard.

“We’re going to find out.”

A few hours later, a nurse approached him.

“Mr. Carter, police just sent over a report. Your ex-partner was admitted to General Hospital early Saturday morning after a car accident. She was with a man who fled the scene. She didn’t have ID, but they’ve identified her now.”

“Is she alive?”

“Yes. Stable, but sedated. She has fractures and a head injury.”

Ryan closed his eyes for a second. He wanted to explode, but Ethan was right there beside him.

He pulled out his phone and called his lawyer.

“Mark, I need to start custody proceedings right away. I’m not letting this happen again.”

“Send me everything. I’ll file first thing in the morning.”

Then Ryan looked at Ethan.

“We’re staying here tonight, okay? Close to your sister.”

“Can I stay with you forever?”

Ryan looked straight at him.

“Starting today, I’m not letting go.”

He spent the whole night beside Lily’s hospital bed while Ethan slept on a couch under a blanket a nurse had given him. By morning, the social worker had more questions, and Ryan answered all of them. If reports had to be filed, so be it. His only job now was protecting his kids.

Then the nurse returned with better news.

“Your daughter is awake.”

Ethan lit up.

They went in together. Lily looked weak, but when she saw her brother, she held out her arms.

“I missed you,” Ethan whispered.

“Me too,” Lily whispered back.

Ryan stroked both their heads.

“You’re going to be okay. I promise.”

Later that day, Ryan got a call saying Nicole had woken up and wanted to see him. He drove over. She looked bruised, exhausted, and ashamed.

“The kids are alive,” she said quietly.

“Yes.”

“What did you do, Nicole?”

“I thought nothing bad would happen. I just went to a party… I needed a break.”