Chapter8

Outside the floor-to-ceiling windows of Mila's Mercy Clinic, the first snow was gently blanketing the parking lot. I had just signed the last quarterly report when my office door was thrown open. Lucia Miller stood in the doorway, her Chanel suit dotted with unmelted snowflakes. Her carefully drawn eyeliner was smudged, leaving two black tear trails down her cheeks. "Mila..." Her voice was raspy, as if scraped by sandpaper. "Eric is dying... My child is going to have no father..." She suddenly collapsed onto the carpet, her pearl necklace snapping, beads scattering everywhere. I slowly helped her trembling body up, catching a whiff of expensive perfume mixed with the smell of hospital disinfectant. "Speak," I pushed a cup of coffee toward her. "What brings you here today?" Lucia wiped the corners of her eyes with her silk gloves. "The doctors say... Eric has at most three months left. I want to take him to Dawnstar Pack, the place he loved most... to enjoy the time he has left...