Chapter 182

• Lucia's POV
• I woke up with a start, head pounding like a drum. Zip-tied to a chair in some old maternity ward recovery room. IV poles dangled around me, still hooked with tiny fetal monitors swinging like ghosts. Ryan slumped next to me, tied too, his chest bandaged but blood seeping through again. Sofia across the room, wrists bound, Mateo fussing in her lap. No sign of Mom… wait, Elena was still in the car outside, comatose. Hope she stayed hidden.
• Leo sat free on the floor, coloring with medical markers he’d found somewhere. Humming that backward lullaby from the speakers. Soft, creepy tune twisting in the air. He looked up, those blue eyes – Ryan’s eyes – innocent but not quite. “Morning, promised mom.” He smiled sweet, kept coloring.