DANIEL'S POV
The jet’s engines were a dull roar, matching the chaos in my skull. I swirled the whiskey in my glass, watching the ice cubes clink. My plan was in motion, but it felt like walking a tightrope over a canyon.
“The sedative was a bit heavy-handed, Clara. He’s been asleep for two hours.”
She didn’t look up from her laptop. “Children are resilient. And it’s better than him asking why we’re on a plane and not at ‘Pine Ridge.’ Your story was flimsy, Daniel. The doctor only bought it because I paid for it. The mother… she’s running on fumes. But she’s not stupid.”
I glanced to the back of the cabin. Maya was a silhouette against the window, her hand on Leo’s head. Every line of her body was turned away from me. A fortress I’d built the walls for.
“She will be,” I said, more to
