"What exactly is it you think I'm here to do?" I cock my head to the side, studying her.

She glances briefly at her son, tightening her grip on him. He looks just as terrified, and I find that notion surprisingly distressing. I haven’t ever given the feelings of children much thought, but considering my impending fatherhood, I think perhaps I should make an effort.

"Your name is Michael, right?" I kneel to meet his eyes, hoping I might be less frightening for him at his level, but he only curls his little fists tighter into his mother's shirt. "I'm Santiago."

He looks up at his mother, and she forces a smile that looks more like a grimace. "It's alright, sweetheart. Why don't you just go upstairs and play with your toys for a little bit? Mr. Santiago and I are going to have a talk."

"Okay," he whispers, and slowly, she releases him from her grip. He tiptoes up the stairs, pausing a few times to glance back at me.

He can sense the monster in his presence. But all children are like that, aren't they? My own will inevitably be the same. They will cling to their mother, too horrified to look at me.

I swallow, but it does not dislodge the painful knot in my throat. My wife is missing. She has taken my child with her. And the question I don’t want to acknowledge lingers at the back of my mind. If it would be better to let her go—let them both go—so that I never have to witness that same revulsion from my own son's eyes.

Yet I can argue that this is exactly what I wanted. My wife pregnant with my children. A family. Heirs to the De La Rosa name. But it isn’t just about heirs anymore. I’d be lying to myself if I said it were. I want her back. I need her back.

"What do you want?" Hazel hisses, putting some distance between us as she takes a few steps back and straightens her clothing.

When I don't answer right away, she starts to pace, brushing loose strands of hair back over her ears. "I expect the cavalry is coming. That's why you're here, isn't it? You plan to haul me away for punishment? What will it be? How will I pay for my sins for leaving IVI? I can’t leave my son alone in this world—"

“Do you really believe The Tribunal would end your life over such a minor slight?” I stare at her, incredulous. “You are panicking. Stop. Think. Breathe. What you’re saying doesn’t even make sense.”

She shakes her head in denial, spewing more fragmented thoughts from her mouth.