I woke to a body still heavy with weakness, greeted by the harsh, clinical light stinging my eyes. My vision swam as a voice cut through the fog—polite, detached.

“Mrs. Ortiz. You’re finally awake.”

I turned my head sluggishly, finding a doctor at my bedside jotting notes. But my attention snagged on the figure in the corner, Rafayel’s mother, tears glistening down her cheeks. Before I could speak, she spun on her heel and hurried out, the door clicking shut behind her.

A pang of hurt twisted in my chest. What had happened?

My gaze drifted to Rafayel, rigid by the window, his silhouette sharp against the grey afternoon light....