Into The Deep

The moment the splash echoed across the backyard, time seemed to lurch forward and then freeze.

Leonard's head snapped in the direction of the pool—he hadn't even processed the sound fully, but something in his bones knew. It was instinct, pure and raw. A child was in the water.

His child.

"Maya!" Julio's scream tore through the air, frantic and trembling.

Leonard didn't wait for anyone else to react.

Claudio hadn't finished his sentence, a drink in his hand, but Leonard was already sprinting away from him, his hair messy from the sudden burst of speed, his steps loud and fast over the stone tiles. Shoes on, shirt buttoned, phone still in his pocket—none of it mattered.

All that mattered was the tiny body flailing in the deep end of the pool.

"Maya!" Leonard shouted, just before leaping.

The cold water swallowed him whole.