“My mother told me… you lost the babies.”
Hannah laughed once.
A cold, humorless laugh.
“Your mother came into my hospital room with a lawyer while I was still bleeding.”
“She pressured me into signing my discharge papers.”
“Then she had every lock at the house changed before I even left the hospital.”
The silence around them became overwhelming.
People at nearby tables had stopped pretending not to listen.
Sebastian stepped in front of her.
“You can’t disappear again.”
She smiled.
“You still think I need your permission.”
Little Ethan quietly moved in front of his mother, his small hands trembling.
Restaurant staff called security.
Only then did Sebastian reluctantly move aside.
The drive back to Hannah’s apartment on Chicago’s North Side was almost completely silent.
Her phone vibrated twice.
The first message came from Sebastian.
Don’t leave Chicago. This isn’t over.
Seconds later another notification appeared.
