Chapter 3: The Ambulance Ride
Chapter 3: The Ambulance Ride
The paramedics lifted me onto a stretcher.
Adrian tried to follow.
One of the officers blocked him.
“I’m her husband.”
“You’re also the man witnesses say assaulted her,” Claire replied.
“That’s a lie.”
Twenty people in the hallway suddenly became very interested in the floor.
Then Steven Cole raised his phone.
“I recorded part of it.”
Adrian’s face turned gray.
Steven looked sick.
“I heard shouting upstairs. I thought someone was drunk. Then I saw him kick her.”
Vanessa stepped backward.
Claire noticed.
“And you?”
“I didn’t touch her.”
“No,” I whispered from the stretcher. “You only watched.”
Vanessa’s lips parted.
For the first time, she looked frightened.
The paramedics carried me downstairs.
Every guest moved aside.
Some stared at my bruises.
Some stared at Adrian.
None of them looked impressed by him anymore.
At the front door, another contraction hit.
I cried out despite myself.
The paramedic checked the monitor.
“Contractions are four minutes apart.”
“I’m only thirty weeks.”
“We know.”
The words chilled me more than the night air.
Inside the ambulance, a nurse secured two fetal monitors across my belly.
Two rapid heartbeats filled the vehicle.
One steady.
One uneven.
“What does that mean?” I asked.
“We’re watching Baby B closely.”
I reached for Claire’s hand.
She climbed in beside me.
Through the open ambulance doors, I saw police officers escorting Adrian away from the mansion.
He was shouting.
Threatening.
Promising lawsuits.
Vanessa stood alone near the fountain, still clutching my champagne flute as if it might protect her.
The doors closed.
Claire squeezed my hand.
“The firm is secure. The house is secure. His accounts are frozen.”
“I don’t care about the money.”
“I know.”
Another contraction tore through me.
I stared at the ceiling and listened to one of my babies struggle.
“Save them,” I whispered.
May you like
The paramedic leaned closer.
“That’s exactly what we’re going to do.”
