I woke up in a healer's house, the sterile smell of antiseptic stinging my nose. A nurse was swapping out my IV, but Sophia was nowhere in sight.
"You're awake," the nurse said, her voice soft with concern. "How're you feeling?"
Pain radiated through me, sharpest in my lower abdomen. My face paled. "How'd I get here?"
She gave me a pitying look. "Andrew, someone cut out your vas deferens and left you bleeding on the street. A passerby saw you, called the enforcers, and they got you to a healer."
My breath caught, eyes dropping to my lap as they burned with tears. My voice shook. "You're saying… I can't ever be a dad?"
The nurse's face crumpled, but she had no words to ease the blow. I clenched my fists, nails biting into my palms, remembering the kidnapper's words about someone paying
