Norma

, heavier than the sedative, sharper than the contractions. He was gone, probably already back to Karmen's side, waiting for her

ning every nerve ending in my uterus. I was bleeding. I knew it, could feel the warm

tal of the gurney bit into my skin. My fingers scraped against the

tions seized me, stealing my breath. I gritted my teeth, a guttural sound tearing from my throat. Pain, raw and br

swam. The room spun around me like a top. The only thing keeping me going was the f

aping against the polished concrete. My muscles screamed in protest, but I ignored them. I reached the door, my trembling fingers fumbling for a handle that

hope momentarily eclipsing the pain. Someone was coming! I slammed my hand again

a heavy slab of steel. I hadn't moved fast enough. My

CRACK split

hand, crushed. A scream ripped from my throat, raw and animalistic, piercing through the fog of

flashing lights. My fingers, mangled and twisted, were trapped. This new agony w

trapped, broken, and bleeding. My screams echoed in the padd

rifying flood between my

steel door. My baby was coming. And I was alone. No doctors, no nurses, no help. Ju

emergency exit sign above the do

edy sound against the thick silence. "Please!

oof, isolated. A perfect place to hide a secret. Or to let

ed, sweat mingling with blood and amniotic fluid. I couldn't tell where one ended and the other began. The dr

ing strength, a desperate, primal scr

tst

louder. My heart leaped. Hope, fragile an

cracking. "I'm having the baby! I'

er, until my throat burned

nor the concerned voice of a staff member. It was high-pitch

voice purred, "look wh

es, swollen with tears and exhaustion, squeezed shut. I tri

he words barely a whisper. "L

her perfectly made-up face, looking down at me with disdain. For a fleeting second, I thought she mig

ot and kicked me

urled around my swollen belly, trying to protect my chil

didn't try any of your desperate stunts. Who do you think you are, Jada Norman? You're not worthy of the Manning name. You never were. Deegan wants you to

treaming down my face, clinging to my baby bump. My body c

eated. "I'll give up everything. Just let me and my baby go. Te

d, her face twisting into an ugly mask. She pulled a small walkie-talkie fr

g me apart, shredding my very soul. My baby was comi