MEI'S POV — 8:42 AM
The call came while Mei was making breakfast.
She'd been humming to herself....something she hadn't done in years, hadn't been able to do through the worst of her illness, cracking eggs into a bowl, preparing breakfast that she would be taking to the hospital for Aria that morning, sunlight streaming through the kitchen window of the small apartment Damien had arranged for her near the hospital. She'd been thinking about Aria. About how her daughter had looked yesterday, bright-eyed and laughing, holding Damien's hand on her hospital bed, she had look more alive, she was recovering well from the aftermath of the kidnapping.
She'd been happy. Genuinely, quietly happy for the first time in longer than she could remember.
Then her phone rang.
She recognised the number and picked it immediately.
Marcus's voice came through the line. Calm, measured, professional. The kind of voice trained specifically to deliver devastating news without causing immediate panic.
