Chapter 2 - THE PERFECT HUSBAND’S STORY
Garrett recovered faster than I expected.
He always did.
Within seconds, his shoulders relaxed and his voice softened into the warm tone that had fooled doctors, neighbors, pastors, and even my own family.
“My wife is confused,” he said. “She fell down the stairs.”
Agent Brooks did not look at him.
She crouched beside me instead.
“Elena, did you fall?”
My lungs felt too tight to fill.
Garrett stood behind her.
I could feel his eyes on me.
“I…”
His shoe scraped once against the polished floor.
A warning.
Mateo stepped closer to my wheelchair.
“You are safe here.”
Garrett laughed.
“You’re an X-ray technician.”
Mateo’s expression did not change.
“And I know the difference between a fall and a rotational fracture.”
Agent Mercer opened the hospital chart.
“This fracture occurred when the arm was twisted while fixed in place.”
Garrett crossed his arms.
“You’re not a doctor.”
“No,” Mercer said. “But the forensic radiologist downstairs is.”
A nurse approached with a hospital security officer.
Garrett immediately pointed toward Mateo.
“That man assaulted me.”
Mateo glanced at the ceiling camera.
“The hallway recorded everything.”
Garrett looked up.
The camera’s red light blinked.
His confidence slipped again.
Agent Brooks stood.
“Mr. Hartford, step away from your wife.”
“I’m her husband.”
“That is not an exemption.”
He turned to me.
“Elena, tell them.”
His voice was gentle now.
Almost loving.
“Tell them you fell.”
I looked at his hand.
The same hand that had pushed me against the kitchen counter the night before.
The same hand that had twisted my arm when I tried to grab my phone.
The same hand that had rested on my belly afterward while he whispered that stress could kill the baby.
My mother’s voice echoed in my mind.
Marriage is hard. Don’t provoke him.
I lowered my eyes.
Garrett smiled.
Then my baby kicked.
Hard.
I pressed my good hand against my stomach.
A monitor inside the X-ray room began beeping.
The nurse rushed forward.
“Her blood pressure is dropping.”
Garrett moved toward me.
Agent Mercer blocked him.
“Don’t touch her.”
“I’m her emergency contact.”
“Not anymore,” Agent Brooks said.
They wheeled me toward the obstetric emergency unit.
Garrett followed until two hospital security officers stopped him at the double doors.
“Elena!” he shouted.
His voice cracked.
Not from fear for me.
From losing control.
In the examination room, Dr. Claire Bennett placed monitors across my belly.
My daughter’s heartbeat filled the room.
Fast.
Strong.
Alive.
I started crying.
Dr. Bennett examined the bruises on my abdomen.
Her fingers paused over a yellowing mark below my ribs.
“How long has this been happening?”
I stared at the ceiling.
“Three years.”
Mateo stood near the doorway.
Agent Brooks sat beside me.
Dr. Bennett’s face tightened.
“Has he ever struck your stomach?”
I nodded once.
The fetal monitor skipped.
Everyone looked at the screen.
Dr. Bennett adjusted the sensor.
Then she went still.
“What?” I whispered.
She looked at Agent Brooks.
“There are traces of a sedative in her blood.”
“I didn’t take anything.”
Garrett had brought me tea before driving me to the hospital.
He said it would calm me down.
Agent Brooks opened the chart again.
“Do you recognize the name Dr. Calvin Moss?”
I shook my head.
Dr. Bennett looked up sharply.
“He doesn’t work here.”
Agent Brooks turned the page.
“He signed authorization to sedate Elena and induce labor tomorrow.”
My pulse pounded in my ears.
“I’m only thirty-three weeks.”
Dr. Bennett’s expression hardened.
“There is no medical reason to induce you.”
Agent Brooks leaned closer.
“Then someone created one.”
My phone vibrated inside my purse.
Mateo retrieved it and handed it to Brooks.
May you like
A new message appeared from my mother.
DO WHAT GARRETT SAYS. HE KNOWS WHAT MUST HAPPEN BEFORE THE BABY IS BORN.
