By the time they returned to the hospital, Lyra was so exhausted that she had fallen asleep on Zeyan’s shoulder. Elena walked beside him, occasionally leaning down to check on her daughter, while Maya accompanied them all the way to the hallway outside the room before leaving. The birthday party had softened Elena’s mood a little, but running into Diana at the Grand Meridian had dragged everything back to reality: there were still plenty of people out there waiting for a chance to turn Lyra into a joke, and the more Zeyan appeared beside mother and daughter, the less those voices seemed willing to stop.
The moment the hospital room door opened, Elena saw Reginald sitting inside.
He had not come alone. His secretary stood near the window, and on the table lay a tablet playing the exact vi
