By the next morning, the hospital felt like a war zone.

Journalists had doubled in number. Cameras flashed nonstop, reporters shouted questions at anyone who walked past, and security guards struggled to keep them behind the barricades. It was loud, chaotic, and exhausting.

Inside Jamie’s room, Maya stood by the window again, watching the growing crowd with a sinking heart.

“This is too much,” she whispered.

Daniel rubbed the back of his neck. “They’re acting like vultures. They don’t care who they hurt.”

Anika hugged herself, sitting closely beside Jamie. “They’re scary,” she murmured.

Jamie didn’t speak. He kept looking at the doorway as if expecting someone to burst in...