Chapter 9

RAINA

As I stepped out of Alexander’s office, my mind was screaming at me to turn back, to save Liam before it was too late. Every fiber of my being was begging me to jump right into it, to hold my son and do whatever it took to stop the illness from consuming him further. But I couldn’t. Not yet.

Just a few more days, I told myself, clenching my fists as I walked down the hallway. Just a few more days to push Alexander to agree to my terms. If I went in now, desperate, without securing my rights as his mother, nothing would stop Alexander from pulling him away from me again. And I couldn’t risk that—couldn’t save him only to lose him all over again.

The thought burned like fire. This wait, this gamble I was taking, it tore me apart. Every hour I delayed felt like I was failing him. But if I held out just a little longer, maybe, just maybe, I could finally make sure that once I saved my son, he’d be mine forever.

I immediately found my way to hospital, I need