Then—
A faint movement under his fingers.
Ethan reacted instantly.
He lifted the baby slightly, tilting him forward the way his grandfather once showed him when an animal choked.
One firm pat.
Two.
Three.
“Stop!” a doctor shouted.
Four.
Ethan pressed under the jaw and gave one precise push.
A small red plastic bead shot out, hitting the floor with a sharp click.
For a second, everything froze.
Then—
A cry.
Loud.
Clear.
Alive.
The monitor flickered back to life.
Beeping.
Breathing.
Living.
The room went silent in shock.
It hadn’t been a tumor.
The baby had been choking on a bead lodged in the airway.
The machines searched for something complex.
Ethan saw something simple.
Sophia collapsed, holding her crying baby, tears now filled with relief.
William turned slowly to Ethan.
“I had everything,” he said, his voice shaking. “And I saw nothing. You saw what we didn’t. You saved my son.”
Ethan shrugged slightly.
“I just paid attention.”
Sophia removed her gold watch, trying to give it to him.
Ethan stepped back.
“No, ma’am. My grandpa says when you help someone, you don’t ask for payment.”
William knelt in front of him.
“Then tell me—what do you want most?”
Ethan hesitated.