Chapter 9 - THE OPERATING ROOM
Ryan collapsed.
Security officers dragged him away before he regained consciousness.
I remember Dr. Collins shouting for an operating room.
I remember the ceiling moving above me.
I remember Hannah running beside the bed, crying and apologizing.
Then the pain became larger than the room.
“Emily, stay with me.”
Dr. Collins’ face appeared above mine beneath surgical lights.
“Your placenta is separating. We need to deliver now.”
“Is she alive?”
“Yes.”
“Will she stay alive?”
Dr. Collins did not lie.
“We are fighting for her.”
The anesthesiologist placed a mask over my face.
I grabbed Dr. Collins’ sleeve.
“Don’t let Ryan take her.”
“He will never touch either of you again.”
The medication entered my IV.
Darkness arrived before I could answer.
I woke to silence.
No fetal monitor.
No movement inside me.
My hands searched my stomach.
Flat.
Bandaged.
Empty.
A nurse moved quickly to my bedside.
“My baby.”
“She is alive.”
The words shattered me.
I began sobbing.
“Where?”
“Neonatal intensive care.”
“Can I see her?”
“When you are stable.”
I looked around.
Hannah slept in a chair near the window.
A police officer stood outside the door.
Dr. Collins entered wearing fresh scrubs.
Exhaustion showed beneath her eyes.
“You had a severe placental abruption and HELLP syndrome. We controlled the bleeding, but you required transfusions.”
“My daughter?”
“Three pounds, eleven ounces. She is breathing with support.”
I closed my eyes.
Alive.
Dr. Collins sat beside me.
“There is something else.”
Ryan had been arrested for attempted murder, poisoning, domestic assault, insurance fraud, and conspiracy.
Dr. Mercer agreed to testify.
Judge Vale was captured at a private airfield.
The hospital fire had been started inside a supply closet using accelerant found in Ryan’s truck.
Every part of his plan was collapsing.
But Dr. Collins did not look relieved.
“What is it?”
“The newborn toxicology screen found the same sedative in your daughter’s blood.”
“From me?”
“Partly.”
Her voice became careful.
“The concentration was higher than expected.”
I stared at her.
“What does that mean?”
“Someone may have administered medication directly during delivery.”
My body went cold.
“Who was in the operating room?”
She listed the surgical team.
Everyone accounted for.
Except one temporary neonatal nurse.
The woman had used false identification.
Security footage showed her leave the hospital twelve minutes after my daughter was transferred to intensive care.
Police searched her locker.
Inside they found a photograph of Ryan.
On the back, he had written:
IF I’M ARRESTED, FINISH IT.
I tried to get out of bed.
Pain tore through my incision.
Dr. Collins held me down gently.
“Your daughter is guarded.”
“Ryan hired someone to kill her.”
“She failed.”
“How do you know?”
Dr. Collins looked toward the door.
May you like
The neonatal unit had just called.
My daughter’s heart rate was falling.
