Chapter 1Power's out. My kid's dying from heatstroke on the 33rd floor.
My husband—the repair captain—gave the last generator to his "childhood sweetheart" downstairs.
I called. He snapped:
"Stop being dramatic. Give her water."
"You're my wife. I can't play favorites."
"Serena's alone—she needs me."
So I carried my daughter down myself.
His equipment blocked the stairs.
Dispatch drops the bomb:
"Captain Cross put Mrs. Knight's floor first, ma'am. Yours is… last."
My daughter Coco went limp in my arms.
Damon Cross—you let our daughter roast to death for her.
See you in hell.
---
My daughter's dying in my arms. I'm sobbing into the phone.
"Damon—the elevator's dead, the stairs—your equipment's blocking everything—she can't breathe, she can't—please, just—our floor, please—"
He cuts me off, sharp and cold.
"Emma. Really? You're using Coco to start drama? Can you think about anyone but yourself for once?"
I slide down the wall, legs giving out.
Before I can say anything, I hear voices on his end.
"Captain, your wife's called like six times."
"Top floor's cooking. The kid's—"
"Maybe we should just—"
Damon's voice turns to ice.
"For what? She's an ER doc. Can't handle basic heatstroke?"
"She just hates that I'm helping Serena first."
"Serena's weak. Kid's five. They come first. End of story."
Click.
He hangs up.
I look down at Coco, her face purple-red, skin burning.
"Mommy... hurts... when's Daddy...?"
My hand's shaking on her chest.
Thump-thump... thump... thump...
Slower. Slower.
Her little hand drops.
I kiss her cooling cheek, can't stop crying.
"Damon Cross, you bastard!"
Everything goes dark. I drag us back to the bedroom.
We're dying. At least we're dying together.
When I wake up, we're floating over Serena's apartment.
Damon's kneeling by the couch, dabbing her forehead with a wet towel.
"Serena... better now?"
God, his voice—so soft. Never heard that tone in my life.
Serena's all draped on the cushions, tears in her eyes.
"Damon... this is—you've been here forever because of me..."
She bites her lip. "Emma probably... she must hate me..."
Damon laughs.
"Forget her. She's selfish. Can't stand me helping anyone else."
"You and Jayden? You're alone. Who else is gonna look after you two?"
Jayden's next to them, tearing into watermelon, juice everywhere.
Damon ruffles his hair, grinning.
"Easy, bud. Got tons more in the fridge."
I'm just floating. Can't feel anything but rage.
Coco tugs my hand, voice so small.
"Mommy... Daddy doesn't love me... anymore?"
Something in me breaks again.
I can't answer.
Chapter 2
Serena's voice floats over again.
"Damon... maybe you should—Emma might need this more..."
She nudges the heat relief pills toward him.
"I mean, top floor's brutal... if Coco's really sick..."
Damon doesn't even look. Just grabs the box and stuffs it in her bag.
"Need it for? Come on."
"Emma's a damn doctor. Kid's got a little heat exhaustion. She knows what to do."
"This stuff's imported, kicks in fast. Jayden needs it more."
"He gets sick easy. Can't mess around with that."
I'm right here, staring at that box—the one I begged him to get for three days.
Coco needed it before everything went to hell.
And now? He's just giving it away. To some other woman's kid.
A logistics guy crashes through the door, soaked in sweat.
"Captain! Weather service just went red alert, it's 113 out there!"
"Top floor's getting cooked. Probably hitting 122 inside."
"Your wife's not picking up. Maybe we should just swing by real quick?"
Damon's jaw tightens, clearly annoyed.
"Nah. She was yelling at me like five minutes ago. Loud as hell. She's fine."
"Probably figured out I'm not buying her act, so now she's ghosting me."
The guy's practically bouncing with panic.
"Captain, her smartwatch is hooked into our system."
"It flagged her heartrate. Something's off."
"And now... now it's not picking up anything."
Damon actually laughs. Takes a slow sip of ice water.
"Yeah, 'cause she ripped it off and chucked it somewhere."
"She'll pull any stunt to get me running back."
"Everyone, listen up. All hands on the second floor backup. That's priority."
"Nobody goes upstairs. We're not wasting time on this."
The guy tries to push back. Damon just stares him down.
Serena leans into him, all soft and sad.
"Damon... you're being so harsh... Emma's gonna think I put you up to this..."
Damon pats her hand, so sure of himself.
"She can think whatever. Doesn't matter."
"I let her get away with too much. That's the problem."
"Once she's done pouting, she'll come down and say sorry. Always does."
I'm just floating here, watching him sit there all smug.
I feel nothing.
Used to be I'd shake with rage hearing him talk like that.
Now? It's just sad.
Coco drifts over, reaching for his shirt.
"Daddy... we weren't faking... it was so hot... we couldn't..."
Her hand passes right through him.
She stares at it, confused and scared.
"Mommy... he can't hear me..."
I pull her close, ghostly and weightless.
"I know, baby. It's okay. We don't need him."
Chapter 3
A while later, cheers erupt down the hallway.
The deputy stumbles in, wiping sweat off his face.
"Captain! Floors two through five—we're done."
"Just the top left. Guys are good to go."
Damon's peeling lychees for Jayden. His hand stops.
"Wait."
He hands the fruit to Jayden, wipes his fingers real slow.
"Serena's basement. The dehumidifier's been off since the power went."
"Her husband's paintings are down there. Get wet, they're toast."
"Hit the basement first."
The deputy's face goes blank, like he can't believe what he just heard.
"Captain—paintings? Seriously?"
"Your wife and kid are up there right now—"
"That floor's a damn oven—someone's gonna—"
Damon's eyes go cold.
"You telling me how to do my job?"
"Emma's an adult. She's an ER doc, for crying out loud. She can handle it."
"Those paintings? That's all Serena and Jayden have left of his dad. Worth a fortune."
"You wanna run up there and play along with Emma's drama? That's wasting everyone's time."
The deputy's fists clench so hard his knuckles go white. He tries one more time.
"But we can't just—"
"No!" Damon's voice snaps sharp. "I said basement. That's final!"
The deputy stands there shaking, then finally turns and walks out.
Serena's hand flies to her mouth, tears spilling over.
"Damon... god... thank you..."
"If you hadn't... we'd have lost everything..."
Damon sits back down, voice going gentle.
"It's my job. Protect people. Protect what matters to them."
Coco's head tilts, tears running down her cheeks.
"Mommy... was I bad? Is that why Daddy picked Jayden's mom instead?"
Something in my chest breaks all over again. I hold her close as I can.
"No, baby. Never. You're perfect."
"Daddy messed up. Not you."
Three hours drag by. Finally, the basement dehumidifier kicks back on.
Serena stares at the paintings, then throws herself at Damon, crying into his chest.
Damon goes stiff and shifts back a little.
He's married. He's got a daughter. He doesn't want Serena like that.
Just felt sorry for her. Single mom. That's it.
Serena notices him pull away, and something shifts in her expression.
"Damon... you should probably... Emma's gotta be losing it by now..."
The second she says it, Damon snorts.
"Yeah. Let's see how long she keeps this up."
He grabs his crew and heads for the stairs.
Coco and I drift behind them.
