Weeks later, I was asked to come to the hospital for one final question about the baby. When I arrived, a nurse smiled warmly. “He’s healthy,” she said. “Growing stronger every day.”

I looked through the glass window at the tiny boy I had once pulled from the cold, and my heart ached.

Then the nurse hesitated. “There’s something else,” she said gently. “Alyssa left behind a note—found later in her car. It mentioned you.”

My breath caught.

She handed me a folded piece of paper, sealed in a plastic bag. The writing was faint, shaky, but unmistakably Alyssa’s.

If anyone finds this, please… tell Laura Bennett thank you. She was kind to me when no one else was. If something happens to me, please keep my baby safe. His name is Jacob. He deserves a mother who knows love.