“Sam, sweetheart... you’re awake,” the old man said with a shaky breath, crossing the room in three steps before pulling her into his arms. The worry in his voice clung to the air like smoke. They’d rushed her to the hospital after she collapsed—the fever had spiked so high, it hadn’t budged all night. Simone hadn’t left her bedside once.
Drake was still missing in action. No calls. No texts. He didn’t even know what had happened to his wife.
“Baby girl… you feeling any better?” Leandro asked gently, searching her face for something familiar.
But what he saw sent a chill straight through him.
Samantha was staring right at him—but her eyes were empty. Blank. As if he were a stranger who’d wandered into her room by accident.
“Sam?” he whispered. His arms dropped slightly. That hollow ga
