Page 97 of Fallen Empire

“Savannah, dear, you ready to stretch those legs for me today?”

Silence.

I could see her out of the corner of my eye. Savannah didn’t even look at her. She just stared ahead, eyes locked on something only she could see.

“Savannah?” Ruth’s voice softened just a touch. “Did you hear me?”

Savannah blinked. Slowly.

“I… yeah. I heard you.”

I looked at her—really looked. The light in her face had dimmed. Just minutes ago she’d been glowing. Laughing. For once, forgetting everything she’d been through.

And I stole that from her.

Ruth didn’t comment. She just walked over with that same clipped efficiency, pulled the rolling monitor toward the bed, and attached the cuff to Savannah’s arm like she’d done it a thousand times. Which, knowing her, she probably had.

The machine beeped to life.

Ruth squinted at the screen.

Then hummed. Low. Sharp.

She looked at me first, then turned to Ben, to Millie, and finally down at Savannah.

Her gaze came back to me, and this time, it narrowed.

“Mr. Westbrook,” she said, her tone like cold steel wrapped in velvet. “It seems my perfect candidate for an early release has an elevated heart rate. I’m going to assume that has something to do with the tension in this room, and whatever has Mrs. Bend-the-Rules over there,” she nodded toward Millie, “staring out a window that has nothing but an AC unit on the other side.”

Her hand rested gently over Savannah’s, but her words had the weight of a threat.

“Need I remind you that the poor child in this bed is my priority. And if I have to remove each of you one by one and sit with her myself, I will do that. Gladly.”

My mother passed too soon for me to remember the sound of her voice. But in that moment, I imagined this is what she would’ve sounded like.

That tone. That heat. That fire disguised as care.

I stood straighter without even thinking.

“Yes, ma’am. We understand.” I saidwebecause her words were meant for all of us. And because I had a feeling if Millie opened her mouth again, whatever flew out wouldn’t be good.

I looked back at Savannah, and she was staring at me with the smallest hint of a smirk on her face. As if I hadn’t just burst the fragile bubble she’d been floating in. Like she’d already forgiven me for it.

And in that moment, I knew that the woman I was in love with was the fiercest woman I’d ever known. She wasn’t going to back down from a fight. She’d prove how strong she was, just like she had a thousand times before.

I just needed to make sure it didn’t come to that.

And maybe, just maybe, I could start by pulling Millie back to my side.

Start by giving her the one thing she wanted more than anything.

“Millie,” I said, turning to her, “do you mind helping Ms. Ruth from that side? I’ll stay on this one.”

That was all it took.

The storm cloud hovering over her was gone. She didn’t speak. Didn’t glare. Just moved to Savannah’s other side, steady and focused, like she’d been waiting for someone to let her do something.

And for the first time since I’d opened my damn mouth, the room felt right again.