Chapter 4 - No Heartbeat
The emergency room smelled of antiseptic and wet clothing. Ethan stood beneath fluorescent lights, staring at his own hands as though the money could be washed off them.
Inside the exam room, Dr. Priya Singh pressed a monitor against Claire's stomach. The baby's heartbeat rattled from a small speaker, fast and uneven.
“Is she okay?” Claire asked.
“We're watching her closely,” Dr. Singh said. “Your contractions are coming too often. You've also inhaled pool water. We need to keep you here.”
Claire gripped the bedrail. “Don't talk around me. Tell me what could happen.”
“We may have to deliver early.”
Maya sat beside the bed in dry hospital scrubs a nurse had found for her. Her knees were bandaged. She had refused to go home until Claire was safe.
“Your daughter's stubborn,” Maya said. “She gets that from you.”
Claire managed half a smile. “You barely know me.”
“I've worked in your house two years. I know how you talk to people when no one's listening.”
A knock came at the door. Detective Lena Ortiz entered with a notebook and the tired eyes of someone who knew rich families could buy better stories than most people could afford.
“I need a statement,” she said. “Not tonight if you're not up to it. But soon.”
“She tried to kill us,” Claire said. “Sloane Price. She pushed me.”
Ortiz wrote it down. “And why would she do that?”
Before marrying Ethan, Claire had helped tenants fight unsafe housing. She could read an inspection report and spot the danger a contractor hoped nobody would notice. The company's records had terrified her.
Claire looked toward Ethan in the doorway. He couldn't meet her eyes.
“Because I found out where the Cedar Point money went.”
He finally looked up. “Claire, please.”
“No. You had months to tell me.”
The monitor gave a warning chirp. Dr. Singh stepped forward, adjusting the probe.
“Hold on,” she said.
The speaker hissed. The heartbeat disappeared.
Claire sat bolt upright. “Find her.”
The doctor moved the probe again.
May you like
“Find my baby!” Claire screamed.
And in the terrible silence that followed, nobody answered.
