"Mom!" I scream, catching her just before she hits the ground.
Her face is pale. Her body limp.
Tears blind me. "Mom! Mom, stay with me!"
Ethan stands frozen, his mouth slightly open.
Then, in the distance—
The sound of tires screeching.
Liam.
Ethan is taking Liam.
"No!" I try to chase after them, but my mother’s body goes slack in my arms.
I look at her. Then at the car speeding away with my son. And I break. I scream. I sob. I lose everything.
The hospital is cold. Sterile. Dead. The doctor doesn’t look me in the eye.
"I’m sorry. She didn’t make it."
I sink to the floor. Liam is gone. My mother is gone. I have nothing.
At her funeral, I stand in front of the grave, a lifeless shell of the woman I used to be. Tears no longer fall. Because I don’t have any left.
All I have now is rage. Hatred. Vengeance.
I stare at the grave, my voice cold, empty.
"I will get Liam back."
I lift my chin, fire burning in my veins.
And then I board the next flight to New York.
New York City is nothing like home. The towering buildings, the blinding lights, the endless crowds—I should feel lost in all of this, but the truth is, I’ve been lost long before I stepped foot in this city.