My sister announced she was expecting her fourth c…

I remember walking to the hospital lobby with my badge still clipped to my blazer and my meeting notes in my hand. There are places where family drama feels ugly.

A hospital is worse than ugly. It is dangerous. People come there because their children are sick.

Because time matters. Because every hallway is built around urgency. And Trevor Blake had decided to turn it into his stage.

He stood near the security desk with Harper, Miles, and Chloe clustered around him. Chloe had one shoe untied and a stuffed rabbit dragging on the floor. Miles was coughing into his sleeve.

Harper looked embarrassed, old enough to know adults were staring, but too young to stop any of it. Trevor grinned when he saw me. “There she is,” he said loudly.

“Aunt Camille, the career woman who has time for everybody’s kids except her own blood.”

The security guard looked from him to me. I kept my voice low. “These are not my children.

I did not agree to watch them. He has been sent legal notice not to do this.”