Chapter 6 - The Discharge
The afternoon sun was casting long, warm shadows across the private courtyard of St. Jude’s psychiatric annex when Ryan walked through the garden gates.
Maya was sitting on a wooden bench beneath a sprawling oak tree, wearing a simple gray cardigan and dark jeans. Her hair was tied back loosely, and the bruise above her left eyebrow had faded into a faint yellowish shadow against her pale skin.
She looked up as footsteps crunched on the gravel. When she saw Ryan standing there alone, holding a small overnight bag, her shoulders tensing defensively.
"Are they coming to take Leo?" Maya asked, her voice trembling before he could even speak. "Did your mother... did she win?"
Ryan didn't answer with words. He dropped the bag, crossed the grass in three rapid strides, and dropped to his knees right in front of her bench, wrapping his arms around her waist and burying his face in her lap.
He didn't cry—men like Ryan Sterling didn't know how to cry easily—but his whole body shook with a violent, shuddering wave of shame and relief.
"I'm sorry," Ryan choked out, the words tearing through his throat. "God forgive me, Maya, I was blind. I let her into our home. I let her dictate our lives."
Maya sat frozen for a second, her hands hovering in the air. Then, slowly, her fingers touched his hair, threading through the strands as the tears finally spilled over her lower eyelids.
"Is Leo okay?" she whispered, her voice breaking. "Where is our baby?"
"He's at home, in his own bed, with nurse Henderson and a security detail outside the gates that would keep out an invading army," Ryan looked up, his eyes shining with absolute, unyielding resolve. "And my mother is currently being interrogated by the King County Special Victims Unit. Her assets are frozen, her corporate privileges have been revoked, and she is never—never—setting foot near our family again."
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Maya pulled back slightly, looking into his face. "You saw the video?"
"I saw everything," Ryan said softly. "And I'm going to spend the rest of my life making sure you and Leo never have to look over your shoulders again."
