Kael
Doran was standing outside the closed door and I knew before he even spoke, but somehow when I pushed the door open, a part of me hoped I would see mother and child cuddled on the bed.
The room was empty.
The blanket from the recliner was gone, the bag gone. On the side table was a single sheet of paper.
I picked it up.
Signed release form. Her signature at the bottom, pressed hard into the last letter.
Doran had followed me into the room and was talking. I was aware of his voice but could barely concentrate on the words he was saying.
"— sent me down for the supplements, it took longer than it should have… was gone maybe twenty minutes and when I came back the room was—"
I set the release form down.
"— I checked the main exit first, then the service corridor, I spoke to the nurse at the station who said she'd signed out maybe fifteen minutes before I got back, so the window was—"
