Chapter 2 - No One Leaves
Preston glanced at the camera, then at the security officers blocking both ends of the hall. For the first time in five years of marriage, Emily saw fear get through his perfect manners.
"Raymond, you're making a scene," he said.
"Your wife was assaulted. Call the police," Raymond told the security chief. "And preserve every recording on this floor."
Vanessa laughed once. "Assault? I lost my balance."
"In a ten-thousand-dollar pair of heels?" the nurse asked. "You aimed. I saw it."
Her badge read REBECCA HALE, RN. Blonde hair pinned in a tight bun, blue scrubs, clipboard against her chest. The hand holding it was shaking, but her voice wasn't.
A physician arrived with a wheelchair. "Dr. Maya Chen, maternal-fetal medicine. Emily, I'm going to take care of you. Can you tell me where she hit you?"
Emily pointed. Saying the word "baby" felt dangerous, as though it might break something. Preston tried to follow them. Raymond stopped him with an open hand.
"She's my wife," Preston protested.
"And she gets to decide who enters her room."
"Emily," Preston called, his voice suddenly soft, "don't let him turn us against each other."
She looked back. "You stood there."
That was all she could manage. It landed harder than shouting.
In the examination room, cool gel touched her belly. A heartbeat filled the room: quick, urgent, beautiful. Emily started crying before she realized she'd been holding her breath. Rebecca put a folded towel under her head.
"She's still with us," Dr. Chen said. "But a heartbeat isn't the whole picture. After a blow to the abdomen, we watch for bleeding and placental problems. You'll stay on the monitor."
"Will she be okay?"
"I'm going to do everything medically appropriate to keep both of you safe."
Raymond stood near the door, fists tucked into his pockets, trying not to frighten her with his anger. Emily had known him as the uncle who bought her ice cream when her mother died, not the man people stood up for when he entered a room.
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Dr. Chen studied the ultrasound a second time. Her smile faded. She turned the screen slightly away and reached for the call button.
"Emily," she said, "I need another specialist in here. There may be bleeding behind the placenta."
