AXEL’S POV:
A small voice cut through the chaos in my mind.
“Daddy?”
Sea.
Her voice was soft and uncertain, as if she wasn’t sure I could hear her. My eyes were open, but my body wouldn’t move. I could see her, standing a few feet away, the dim light from the hallway casting her in a soft glow, but I couldn’t react. Couldn’t speak. Couldn’t even lift a finger.
Panic clawed at my chest, but my limbs remained locked. My mind screamed at me to do something, anything, to reassure her, but all I could do was lie there, frozen.
Her tiny footsteps approached, hesitant at first, then quicker as she realized I wasn’t responding.
“Daddy?” Her voice cracked, thick with fear.
A lone tear slid down my good eye. My mind was a warzone, still trapped in that nightmarish haze. I could
