The entire day is spent in the confines of the apartment. Ana hasn't left Teddy's side for more than a few minutes at a time and I haven't let either of them out of my sight more than necessary. I haven't had a private moment with my wife since our son woke and I don't see one coming until he goes back to bed later this evening. My phone has been in use for most of the day—between making calls about pressing charges against Lucy, arranging a temporary restraining order against Elena until we're able to work out her involvement with the kidnapping and get something more permanent in place, and arranging lawsuits against my son's school, I'm surprised I haven't got cramps in my arms from holding the fucking thing against my ear.

While Teddy ate his breakfast, Ana and I sat on either side of him, talking to him about what happened yesterday. Turns out he did recognize Lucy from the one meeting they had months ago, and though he told the school's staff he didn't want to go with her, Lucy managed to convince them it was fine, that Teddy was just shy. Lucy told Teddy they were going back to Seattle to meet me at her house. Teddy inquired about his mother, whether she was going, too, but of course Lucy told him Ana would meet us later as well. They spent most of their day wandering London, they had lunch, Lucy even bought Teddy a couple toys and he seemed sad that he'd forgotten those toys when the police picked him up. I assured him I'd buy him whatever he wanted and Ana nodded her agreement—I have a feeling we're going to be spoiling our boy for the next few weeks at least. The thing that set Ana off was when Teddy told us Lucy asked him to call her Mommy, because she and Daddy were going to get married and live together. I thought Ana was going to explode when she heard this. I wasn't exactly calm myself, but managed to explain to our son that Lucy would not be part of our family, that she did something very bad by taking him from his school.

We then went through telling him never to go with strangers, no matter what he's told. If the person trying to take him isn't family, he is not to go with them anywhere. Period. For a minute, I think he thought he was in trouble for doing something he knew he shouldn't have done, but we promised him this wasn't the case and we were just relieved that he wasn't hurt.

As far as I know, Ana is still determined to remain here in London. If that's the case, so will I. Being in New York and learning that something had happened to my son was the worst feeling in the world, and I never want to experience that again. I need to be near them, whether Ana wants me anymore or not. I'll willingly give up everything I have to keep them safe. I won't stop fighting for my family and Ana will never know how horribly I feel about what happened yesterday. The fact that Lucy was behind it was like rubbing salt into an open wound, reminding me once again how badly I fucked up.

What I haven't told Ana, and am putting off telling her for as long as possible, is that the apartment I found is in this building. Two floors up actually. I know she'll go ballistic and accuse me of being an overprotective, controlling bastard (all of which is, of course, true), but I've promised myself to give her the space and independence she craves while indulging my own insecurities. A bit much, maybe, but I can't be apart from them anymore, and if this is the closest I can get, I'll take it.

Though we've done everything possible to keep this situation private, it was only a matter of hours before the media caught wind of my son's kidnapping by my former mistress. Taylor pulled me aside to inform me that reporters were camped outside the apartment building and the story was about to hit in the States. This meant I had to contact my family to tell them what was going on. None of them would ever forgive me if they learned about this from the news. My parents took it all surprisingly well. I tried to focus on Teddy, hoping to skate over my relationship with Lucy, but of course they brought it up before I ended the call. They weren't surprised to learn about the affair, which made me wonder how long they suspected the true reason for Ana leaving me. I could clearly hear the disappointment in my mother's voice—aside from Ana, she is the only person who can make me feel ashamed of myself with nothing more than a sigh.

After Mom and Dad, I called Mia and Elliot, both of whom expressed their relief that their nephew was safe and their anger at what I did to my wife. I'm going to make it a point to avoid both of them as long as I can; unlike my parents, my siblings have no qualms about letting me know exactly what is on their minds and will do so at the top of their voices and with the use of violence if necessary.

Ana also called her family. As cowardly as it is to admit, I'm relieved that Ray Steele isn't a fan of flying or my physical well-being might be at risk. Carla has no such fear and I will be forever indebted to Bob for keeping his wife from coming to London to kick my ass on her daughter's behalf. Not that Ana couldn't take me if she wanted to. I broke her heart over and over. I nearly cost her the life of her son. The fact that she hasn't kicked me out of her life for good is a miracle. I'm crossing my fingers that she doesn't change her mind about me being here right now.

We have dinner as a family, despite the tension between Ana and me. Teddy is back to normal already—happy, carefree, and energetic as ever—and I'm beyond relieved that he hasn't suffered any ill effects. Ana gives him his bath, I read him his bedtime story, and we both kiss him goodnight before leaving him to sleep.

"Sir?"

I look over to the apartment door to find Taylor standing there. "Yes?"

"A word in private?" Taylor requests.

My eyes dart to Ana who looks between us briefly and turns to walk away, presumably to catch up on her reading. The decision I make next is one I never thought I'd ever make, but this is all about me changing my old ways, the ways that caused my wife to leave me. "Is it something to do with the kidnapping?" I ask Taylor.

His brow furrows slightly, but he nods.

"Then you can tell Ana as well," I say firmly. Both Ana and Taylor are looking at me as though I've grown a second head. I increase my glare at Taylor and he finally snaps out of it. Ana and I sit on opposite ends of the couch while Taylor awkwardly sits in the armchair beside my spot.

He sighs heavily. "We've gotten word from the police station that Miss Hastings is requesting a meeting with you, sir," he reports.

My head falls back against the couch as I immediately regret my decision to include Ana in this discussion. I know she's glaring at me; I can feel it. "Why?" I ask resignedly.

"She says she needs to speak with you and if you agree, she'll give a full confession and accept her punishment," Taylor says briskly. "The police don't recommend the meeting, but are willing to arrange it depending on your decision. My recommendation is to avoid Miss Hastings at all costs."

I've always taken Taylor's opinions to heart, whether I agreed with them or not. I know his opinion on this matter was made with thoughts of my marriage in mind. He's almost as eager as I am to bring Ana and Teddy home; the number of times I've snapped at him for the slightest things that didn't even involve him are endless. "Anything else?" I ask.

"No, sir," Taylor says.

A moment later he's headed out to the hallway where he and the security team are stationed.

"You're not actually considering this," Ana says quietly.

I look over at her warily, hoping this doesn't start another argument. "Admittedly, I'm debating the merits," I answer slowly. "But I'm leaning towards not."

She nods thoughtfully, her brow furrowed as she continues to watch me. I'd give anything to know what she's thinking right now. "Maybe you should meet with her."

"I'm sorry, what?" I say dryly, wondering if the time has come that I'm truly in need of a hearing aid, because there is no way I heard her correctly.

Ana sighs. "You said yourself she isn't going anywhere. I have to admit I'm curious as to her motive for doing this, rather than speculating—I've got some really fucked up scenarios in my head right now and knowing the truth might be a relief."

All I can do right now is stare at her. "Okay, I'm really confused right now," I say. "You wanted me to not see her again, yet here you are encouraging me to see her in jail. I can't help but wonder if this is some sort of test..."

She sighs and I think there's a hint of a smile at the corner of her mouth for a nanosecond. "It's not a test, Christian," she tells me with a hint of exasperation in her tone. "No, I don't ever want you to see her again, just like I never want you to see Elena again. But we're in this, Christian. There will be a trial and we will be asked to be there, so we'll have to see her. I'd like to have my answers now while I have time to adjust. If you decide to do this, though, I want to be there."

Alarms immediately sound off in my head. I'm already picturing Ana and Lucy in the same room together and it's not a pretty scene. "I'm not sure that's a good idea," I tell my wife tentatively. At this point, I'm terrified of rocking the boat that's already sinking at an alarming rate.

She rolls her eyes. I have to subdue the urges I usually have at this gesture as I doubt she would appreciate me launching myself at her with every intention of ravishing her right here on the couch. "You think I'm going to leave you alone in a room with that bitch?" she asks bluntly. "Not happening, Grey."

There truly is no cuter sight than my wife displaying her jealous side. I know better than to comment, all things considered, especially since her jealousy has been justified. "Ana, I haven't even had the chance to think about whether I want to be in a room with her. At the moment, you're not the only person having violent thoughts in regards to Lucy."

I swear she almost smiles. "The difference being your violent thoughts just began last night. Mine have been growing and evolving for seven months. I've even got a few favorites I think about when I'm particularly upset to cheer me up."

My eyebrows rise again. "I'd ask for an example, but I fear some of those thoughts involve me as well."

"You'd be right to fear that."

For a change of pace, there isn't as much conviction in her tone as there might have been only a few hours ago, though I think this is more to do with exhaustion than her softening in her anger towards me. Though it might not be a good move on my part, I feel I need to address the situation before she decides to go to bed for the night. "Ana?"

She sighs. "What, Christian?"

"You were right."

I feel her gaze on me, though mine is locked on the corner of the coffee table in front of us. "About?"

"This is my fault. I've spent so much time dedicating myself to keeping you and our son safe that I don't even realize I'm causing the trouble. I deserve whatever you decide to do in terms of our marriage. I do nothing but hurt you more times than I've made you happy. Seeing you last night at the police station while Teddy was missing... It broke my heart. And I know you said if something happened to him you'd never forgive me, but you should know if something had happened to him, I'd never forgive myself. I'm going to have a hell of a time forgiving myself as it is." I drop my head into my hands. "If you decide to move on, I understand. I don't deserve you. I never did and I have no idea what possessed me to believe I could ever be good for you. Thomas seems... decent..." I cannot believe I'm saying this right now... I still want to beat that fucker's head in. "If he's who you want, I support you. Just know I'll never stop caring for you or loving you, and if you ever need me for anything, I'm only a phone call away."

When I finally find the strength to look up at her, she's staring me as though I'm the stupidest man on the planet. True...

"Christian, there's nothing between me and Thomas," she tells me exasperatedly. "Yesterday morning when you dropped me off at work, he asked me out again and I told him I couldn't see him anymore, because I wanted to focus on myself and on Teddy."

You know that feeling when you're walking down the stairs and you miss a step? Yeah, that's about how I feel right now. "What?" I ask dumbly.

She nods.

I shake my head. "But when I picked you up for lunch, he was sitting practically on top of you." The memory of how close my wife was sitting to that fucker in the office is one I'll have permanently etched in my head for years to come.

"Because we were working, Christian," she says, pulling her legs up to her chest, wrapping her arms around her knees. "Call me naïve if you want, but despite how it looked, it was purely professional on my end. And before you bring it up, he was with me at the police station because I needed a ride from work to the school, then to the station. After that, he wanted to make sure I was okay and to be honest, I didn't want to be alone."

And because he wanted to get in your panties, I add silently. I may be stubborn, but I have learned a few things from Ana—like when to keep my mouth shut. "So what does that mean for us?" I ask, unable to keep the hope out of my voice.

Her only response initially is a raised eyebrow. "Before yesterday afternoon, it meant I had every intention of coming home to Seattle. I hadn't decided whether that meant being with you, but I was probably leaning towards that conclusion."

"And after yesterday?" I ask reluctantly.

She falls back into the couch, staring straight up at the ceiling. "Christian, please don't make me do this right now," she begs. "I asked you to give me a month to decide what I wanted to do next. Please honor that."

The fact that she didn't tell me to go fuck myself is a huge improvement, as well as a shock. I thought she was ready to write off our relationship for good this time and would be running off to be with Canton. I can't hide the smile that is growing across my face. She frowns at me.

"What the hell are you smiling about?" she asks cautiously.

I shrug at her, not willing to have her burst my bubble right now. "Nothing," I tell her as I glance at the clock. It's later than I thought it was, but despite my exhaustion, not to mention very sore back from sleeping in that damn chair all night, I'm not ready to say goodnight to Ana just yet. And judging by the look on her face, she's not overly eager to head to bed either. I can't think of anything to discuss that we haven't discussed to death already, or anything that won't start us fighting again.

"I could use a drink," she says, standing. "Would you like one?"

"Sure, thank you," I reply.

She gives me a forced smile as she heads into the kitchen. To keep myself busy, as well as keeping myself from following her into the kitchen to watch her like a creepy stalker, I stand up and cross the room to look at some of the photos she has on her wall. I feel myself smiling at the memories. Most of them are of Teddy at various stages of his life, starting with a collage of all the sonograms from Ana's pregnancy. My stomach flips over as I recall my reaction the night my wife told me we were going to be parents—yet another thing that I will never forgive myself for. It took me nearly losing her after the Jack Hyde incident to get my head out of my ass and realize just how badly I wanted our child. The number of times I've nearly driven my wife away is painfully high. I suppose losing her was inevitable...

To my surprise, there are several photos of Ana and me—our wedding, our honeymoon, curled up together in our bed when we first brought Teddy home. All three of us are fast asleep, my son on my chest, my wife pressed up against my side. I have no idea who took the picture, but it's a beautiful one.

For the first time in the history of our relationship, I have no idea Ana is standing beside me until she speaks. "Those were good times," she says softly.

I nod, still staring at a photo of us dancing at some benefit of my parents'. Looking at the couple in that photo, I almost don't recognize them as us. They're so obviously in love, lost in each other's eyes as though they are the only people who exist in the entire world. The man is holding the woman tightly against him; the woman has her arms around him, one hand running through his hair. My own hand jumps to my hair as the feeling of her fingers in my hair returns suddenly. "What happened to those people?" I ask, not realizing I'm speaking aloud until she sighs heavily.

"They got lost somewhere along the way," she says wistfully. "Caught up in a life they took for granted. They stopped trusting each other, forgot all the promises they made to each other... They fell out of love with one another."

"I never fell out of love with you, Anastasia," I tell her immediately, turning to look at her.

She smiles sadly. "Loving me and being in love with me are two different things, Christian. Despite everything, I still love you, but I'm not sure I'm in love with you. And I don't want to put words in your mouth, but I think it's the same for you. Until we get that back—if that's even possible—we won't be able to give our son the life he deserves, the one that involves both of us."

I want to contradict her, to tell her that of course I'm still in love with her, but she deserves more than words at this point. She needs something real, something to prove what she means to me. And I can only think of one way I can accomplish that... "Ana?" I say, my heart beating a frantic beat somewhere in my throat.

"What, Christian?"

I lick my lips, desperately hoping she won't reject me again. "Would you like to go out with me?"

Wracking my brain, I can't think of a time that I've used that phrase with anybody. I've never needed to. Before Ana, I never dated. Every woman I've been with has been either a Dominant, a submissive, or, in Elena's case, all the above. I wasn't ever interested in anything more than that, until her. She changed everything for me. I think back to some of the thoughts I had during my affair with Lucy and I'm disgusted by them. At one point I actually believed I met Anastasia and let her change me from the man I had been so I would be ready for when I met Lucy. I know now it's not true; I let Ana change me because I would do anything to have her. And in order to have her, I needed to change. She gave me everything and my affair with Lucy was nothing more than me throwing all that back in my wife's face with a note telling her that her time was a waste and I didn't appreciate her in the slightest.

If she knows me at all, she'll know what it means for me to ask this question of her. Yet another first, Mrs. Grey...

"I'm sorry, what?"

Okay, not the response I was expecting, but understandable... I smile shyly at her. "I'd like to take you out," I tell her softly. "Just you and me. Taylor and Sawyer can watch Teddy for an evening, and I can take you to dinner and wherever else you might like to go."

She blinks at me a few times as though she's still processing the meaning of my words. "Like a date?" she asks skeptically.

My smile widens. "Yes, Anastasia," I say, letting some of my amusement seep into my tone. "Exactly like a date. It occurs to me that while we've had evenings out together, I've never properly asked you out on a date."

Her brow crinkles and her nose scrunches as she considers my words, and I'm pretty sure that if I wasn't in love with her before this moment, the expression on her face would send me head over heels. "I don't understand," she says softly. "Is this another one of your brilliant ploys to try and convince me to come home with you?"

Brilliant, huh? I smirk inwardly. "It's not a ploy," I assure her, then cock my head in thought. "Well, maybe it is... But it's more of a ploy to do this correctly, the way I should have done it from the very beginning. I want to start over, if that makes any sense. I want to get us back to that," I gesture blindly at the photo on the wall of us dancing together. "And I'm willing to lay it all on the line. I understand if you don't want to. I've told you before that I would wait an eternity for you and if you're not ready for this right now, I'm in no rush."

She's staring at me with wide, watery eyes. "Can I think about it?" she asks faintly.

It's not a no... "Of course," I agree. "No pressure, Ana."

She nods, then looks down at her hands as though just realizing she's carrying two glasses of brandy and hands me one before drinking hers down in a few gulps. "I should get some sleep," she says quietly. "Are you staying here again, or...?"

"Not tonight," I tell her, fighting the urge to reach out and tuck an errant strand of hair back behind her ear. "I think I'm going to head to the apartment I looked at the other day."

Her eyebrows shoot up. "Yes, about that... When you say you looked at it, that actually means you bought it, doesn't it?"

"Perhaps," I respond.

She sighs, but doesn't seem particularly surprised. "And where is this apartment?"

"Not far," I say evasively.

"How not far?" she asks, crossing her arms.

I debate for a few moments on how to answer her question without her getting upset. I then realize she's going to figure it out at some point, so I might as well get it over with. "About two floors above this one," I say resignedly. She stares at me for quite a long while, and then shakes her head to herself as though she had expected exactly that answer. "I didn't initially intend to move into this building, Ana. In fact, I tried to find places on the other side of the city so I could give you your space. When it came down to it, this really was the better choice for me as far as price and space go." She's still staring at me with a dull expression and it's making me nervous. "Ana, I promise I will try not to intrude on your life anymore than you want me to, and I'm sorry, but considering yesterday, I feel it would be best that I was near, just in case."

I would give absolutely anything to know what she is thinking right now. She's getting better and better at hiding her emotions from me, and I can't help but think we're backtracking somehow on all the progress we've made so far.

"Right," she finally says. "Well, I should probably get some sleep. Teddy has been cooped up all day and I know by tomorrow he'll need to rid himself of some of that pent up energy."

I smile at her. "If you want help, let me know."

She sighs. "Anything else you need to tell me? You didn't try to buy Canton Publishing again?"

"No," I assure her. "And I won't. If I did, I fear you would be driven to violence and probably rightly so." I think there might be a hint of a smile on her face, but it's gone too quickly to know for certain. "Get some sleep, Ana. I'll see you in the morning."

She nods and hesitates before she turns away from me as though she wants to do or say something. I stay where I am until she makes up her mind—she sighs, shakes her head minutely, and shoots me a tight smile. "Good night, Christian," she whispers.

I wait until she's disappeared down the hall before gathering my jacket, phone, and shoes, then quietly leave the apartment, hoping my decision to remain in London doesn't blow up in my face.

Gasping, I sit straight up in my bed, my eyes wide, my heart beating erratically in my chest, and a cold sheen of sweat covering my body. I close my eyes briefly before glancing over to the bedside table at my alarm clock. 3:47AM. I've only been in bed a couple hours before my dreams decided to run wild in my head. I don't remember much, but the overwhelming need to see my son remains. Quickly, I throw the blankets from my body, not bothering with slippers or a robe as I rush down the hallway, throwing open Teddy's bedroom door. The second I see him, I relax and lean against the doorframe. He's here. He's safe. He's still sleeping soundly.

I tiptoe into the room towards the bed and drop to my knees beside him and just watch him for several minutes, finding comfort in the steady rise and fall of his chest. I half-expect Christian to come in any second until I remember he's in his new apartment. Rolling my eyes, I smooth back Teddy's hair and kiss his forehead. I can't say I'm surprised that Christian has bought an apartment in my building. The only thing that surprises me is that it's taken him this long to do it at all. He assured me he hasn't and won't buy Canton Publishing, and for now I'll trust his words; I'm tired of being suspicious of him all the time. We've got enough problems without adding my paranoia into the mix.

Only a week ago I would have been beyond angry that Christian had taken it upon himself to move closer to us without consulting me in the slightest. Hell, even two days ago I would have had my share of anger. On some levels, I am a little angry about it, especially since his new apartment is in the same building as mine, but at the same time, there is a sense of relief. Those hours I spent at the police station wishing he were there with me to help get me through my son going missing are still painfully vivid in my mind and I don't want to go through anything like that again. It's a relief knowing he's only a phone call away, and if anything happens, he'll be there within minutes if he can. This entire situation has just proven I'm utterly out of my depth and more than once I've considered throwing in the towel, calling Christian, and telling him to take me home to Seattle. Every time I've managed to come to my senses the moment my fingers touch my phone, though.

I do want to go home, but every time I think about it, the hurt I'm feeling returns to the surface. Everything from Lucy to Elena... Christian is starting to open up to me about things and it seems he's being more honest than he's been in years. The problem is that I still have doubts about what he might not be telling me. He's spent the majority of our marriage secretly meeting with Elena Lincoln and I had no idea; god only knows what else he could have been hiding from me. I need to be able to trust him again—with everything. And I have no idea how to go about regaining his trust.

Part of me is bitter and resentful towards Christian right now for deciding to move into my building. One second he says he understands my need for independence and distance from him, then the next he pulls something like this.

One day at a time...

For all I know, he has every intention of allowing me to have the space I desire while putting his own mind at rest about our safety. Teddy will be over the moon to know his father is so close. I smile softly at my son. This is the best thing for him, especially after yesterday. He can see Christian as often as Christian's schedule permits—I'm still incredibly curious as to how my husband plans on operating his business here...

With a sigh, I push myself onto my feet, tuck Teddy's blankets a little tighter around his little body, kiss his forehead, and head back to my bedroom, feeling much better now than I did before I came in here.

Five days have passed since Teddy was kidnapped by Lucy and I'm starting to relax into my life again. Despite my concerns that Christian would become the hovering overprotective man he sometimes is, things have gone on rather smoothly. Together we found a new school for Teddy, a private one where protocol for checking students out is so strict even Christian and I would have to go through strict screenings to get him, and Christian seems pleased with the choice. He is still very insistent about security and our son now has his own little entourage—Ryan arrived in England three days ago and has been charged with essentially babysitting Teddy whenever he isn't under the watchful eye of Christian or me. I thought it might have been a little overboard, though, when Christian mentioned two more security team personnel were currently undergoing very stringent interview processes and would be joining Ryan in a few days, but I know better than to say anything about it.

It's come as a surprise how much distance Christian has given me lately. He joins Teddy and me for dinner, helps me tuck him into bed, we talk for an hour at most, then he leaves for his apartment. Our conversations have been focused solely on our son and he hasn't brought up our relationship at all since asking me to go on a date with him. I can only imagine how impatient it's making him that I haven't yet given him an answer, but I still don't know what I want that answer to be. On the one hand, I'm very curious as to what he might have planned, especially since he mentioned Elliot's advice about a "grand romantic gesture". But on the other hand, I know this is another one of his ploys to win me back. He's using his talent for extravagance just as he did when I first met him.

Not really fair to assume you know exactly what he's got planned, my subconscious chides. Give him a chance...

I roll my eyes to myself as I rush into Canton Publishing. This is my second day back since the kidnapping, and it's going to be a busy one. Thomas sent me an email a couple days before my return to inform me his siblings have decided to allow an outside investor into their business. Apparently they're having a few issues keeping their finances in the black and thought it might be helpful to have a little more backing. Of course my first thought was Christian had done exactly what I feared he might. When I showed him the email, I watched his face very closely, and he was genuinely surprised at what he was reading and assured me he had no intentions to interfere with my career. I know he wasn't lying, because he knows if I were to find out that he was, that would be the end of everything between us. I need this right now.

"There you are, Ana!"

I spin around on my heel as I reach my desk to find Thomas rushing into the office, a strained smile on his face. "I'm not late, am I?" I ask nervously, glancing at my watch to confirm I'm twenty minutes early.

"No," he assures me, his smile turning more genuine. "It's not that. Our investor has arrived early and she's currently in the conference room with my brothers and sister, scrutinizing the last ten years' worth of spreadsheets. They're sitting there justifying every little expenditure we've ever made and she hasn't said more than half a dozen words since her arrival."

I feel nearly every muscle in my body relaxing at the mention that this new investor is a she.

"Anyway, she has asked that some of the editor's assistants be present for the meeting, and given the personalities of some of the others, we've decided to invite you," Thomas tells me. "You won't have to do or say much of anything, I don't think, but I think she wants an idea of what she's getting herself into. Can't really blame her for that."

I recover from my shock and find my voice. "Oh, sure," I say, blinking rapidly. "I mean, thank you for the invitation to sit in."

Thomas' smile widens. "Don't mention it. I've got a stack of the manuscripts you've been working on in the conference room already, so as soon as you've gotten yourself settled, we can head in."

I don't have time to get nervous as I stash my belongings behind my desk and let Thomas lead me towards the conference room two floors up. The doors are closed when we arrive and I take a minute to covertly smooth down my clothes and hair, uncertain what to expect.

Thomas glances over his shoulder at me. "Just relax," he urges me. "I really think this woman has more bark than bite, though to be honest, I can't say I'd want to test the theory. Looks to me like she could tear a man apart with her perfectly manicured hands if she wanted."

Grinning at his words, I wait for him to open the door. When he does, he steps aside to allow me to enter. "Pardon our tardiness," he says to the group as I go into the room. I see several faces I recognize who smile tightly at me—I assume this to be a side effect of whoever they're meeting with this morning—a few I don't that I assume might be Thomas's siblings, and one that stops me dead in my tracks and freezes the blood in my veins.

This has got to be a nightmare.