Chapter 3 Elena's Pov

The hospital room is dim and quiet.

Maya has just returned to her hospital room after a series of tests to monitor her condition, and has fallen back to sleep. My little daughter, who used to be so full of energy and eager to hop around, has become extremely exhausted and weak over the last two days. 

I find myself watching her breathing rhythm with desperation, as if my attention might somehow help keep it steady.

My mind refuses to rest.

The doctor in me keeps replaying everything Dr. Chen said earlier, reviewing the bloodwork results and the treatment path ahead with a precision I cannot turn off. I understand the disease, the therapies, the survival rates, and the brutal uncertainty that comes with them.

But none of that knowledge makes this easier… because this time the patient is not someone else's child.

I brush my thumb gently across Maya’s knuckles, feeling the warmth of her skin beneath my fingers.

“Mommy…” 

She murmurs faintly.

“I’m right here, my bird,” I whisper softly.

Her face relaxes again, and she drifts deeper into sleep.

For the transplant, we need a donor.

A perfect match… and time may or may not have.

My eyes close briefly as the thoughts begin to circle again.

There are donor registries with millions of volunteers. Hospitals search them every day for patients like Maya. Sometimes they find a match quickly. But sometimes, they don't.

Families wait for months, and sometimes, the call never comes at all.

A quiet ache spreads through my chest as another thought slowly rises to the surface of my mind.

It is a thought I have been trying to ignore since the moment Dr. Chen mentioned the transplant.

But the longer I see Maya in this state, the harder it becomes to push it away.

Dominic.

I haven't talked to him since the day I left… but cruelly enough, biology does not care about broken hearts or unfinished stories.

Dominic is Maya’s father. And genetically, that matters.

I look down at Maya again, studying the small face that I know better than my own reflection.

She has my dark hair, but the shape of her eyes belongs entirely to him. Even the stubborn way her chin lifts when she refuses to eat vegetables reminds me painfully of Dominic.

Sometimes when she laughs, the sound is so similar to his that it startles me.

I can’t ignore it anymore.

Because the man whose memory I ran from for seven years might also be the one person capable of saving my daughter’s life.

A soft creak pulls me out of my thoughts.

I look up as the door opens quietly.

Adrian steps inside, closing the door carefully behind him.

He pauses when he notices me watching him.

“Is she awake?” he asks softly.

“No,” I reply.

His gaze shifts immediately to Maya, and his expression softens.

“She looks so tiny, but I miss her so much.”

Adrian moves closer and pulls the empty chair beside mine.

He has known Maya since before she was born.

I met him during my residency when I was seven months pregnant, and desperately trying to pretend that everything in my life was under control.

It wasn't.

I was exhausted, terrified, and completely alone in a new city.

Adrian had noticed immediately.

Instead of asking questions I wasn't ready to answer, he simply started helping in small, thoughtful ways. He brought me hot water during long shifts, reminded me to sit down when my ankles began to swell, and made sure I never skipped meals during overnight rotations.

Eventually he became the one person who knew the full story of the heartbreak I carried with me from Los Angeles.

And through all of it, Adrian never judged me.

“You’ve been thinking about something,” he says gently.

“Yes.”

“About the transplant?”

“Yes.”

“And the donor search?”

“Yes.”

His eyes narrow slightly.

“But that’s not the only thing on your mind.”

I hesitate.

For a long moment I listen to Maya’s steady breathing before finally speaking.

“Dominic…” I say quietly.

Adrian doesn't look surprised.

“He’s her father.”

“Yes.”

“And genetically he could be the best chance she has for a match.”

Adrian exhales slowly before nodding.

“That’s true.”

The words feel heavy in my mouth.

“I never told him about Maya,” I admit.

“I know.”

“He doesn’t even know she exists.”

“I know.”

I glance at him helplessly.

“You think I should tell him?”

Adrian considers his answer carefully before responding.

“I think Maya deserves every possible chance to live.”

My chest tightens painfully.

“And that means going back,” I whisper.

“To Los Angeles.”

The words feel strange after all these years.

Adrian nods.

“Yes.”

“I swore… I swore I would never go back there. Everything I left behind is there.”

Adrian leans forward slightly.

“Elena, you didn’t run away because you were weak,” he says gently.

“I know.”

“You ran away because you were heartbroken and pregnant and trying to survive.”

Emotion tightens my throat.

“And despite all of that,” he continues softly, “you built an incredible life. You became an amazing doctor, and you raised an incredible little girl.”

I look back at Maya.

“But now she needs more than that,” I whisper.

“Yes,” Adrian says quietly.

Silence settles between us, and I take a slow breath.

“I have to go back,” I say finally.

Adrian nods immediately.

“Okay. We’ll transfer Maya’s treatment to Los Angeles.”

“And… I’ll tell Dominic the truth.”

For the first time in seven years, and Adrian studies me.

“Do you want to do this alone?”

I shake my head.

“I’m not sure if I can, but I'll be–”

“Good,” he says. “Because you’re not.”

The meaning hits me at once. “Adrian, no. It's too much to ask, you have your job here.”

“I can transfer it. And no, it's not too much, Lena. You're my best friend.”

I let his words wash over me for a moment. 

“Will you really move with us?”

Adrian shrugs lightly.

“Elena, I’ve been Uncle Addy since the day Maya was born,” he says with a small smile. “And I plan to keep that title.”

I laugh softly despite everything.

“You’re ridiculous.”

“Very.”

I squeeze Maya’s hand gently as she shifts in her sleep.

“Looks like we’re going on a trip, my bird,” I whisper quietly.

Back to the city I swore I would never see again to the man whose memory I tried to bury, to the truth I have been hiding for seven years.

Because if Dominic Carter is the only person who can save my daughter’s life… then I will face every ghost waiting for me in Los Angeles.