The ambulance doors opened before I felt ready.<\/p>\n
I don't know what I had expected.<\/p>\n
Perhaps a moment to understand what Warren had just told me.<\/p>\n
Perhaps enough time to ask whether he was certain.<\/p>\n
Whether he had proof.<\/p>\n
Whether my biological father had truly been living in the same city while I spent my entire life believing he had abandoned me.<\/p>\n
But there was no time.<\/p>\n
The medical team had already begun moving.<\/p>\n
Cold air reached my face.<\/p>\n
Then bright hospital lights replaced the dark, rain-soaked driveway.<\/p>\n
I heard wheels moving across the pavement.<\/p>\n
Someone called out information about my pregnancy.<\/p>\n
Thirty-nine weeks.<\/p>\n
Ruptured membranes.<\/p>\n
Severe contractions.<\/p>\n
Reduced fetal movement.<\/p>\n
I heard every word.<\/p>\n
I wished I hadn't.<\/p>\n
The words sounded different when spoken by medical professionals.<\/p>\n
More serious.<\/p>\n
Less like something I might somehow be imagining.<\/p>\n
I turned my head toward Warren.<\/p>\n
He was walking beside the stretcher.<\/p>\n
His coat was still wet.<\/p>\n
His silver hair had dried unevenly.<\/p>\n
And his face was pale.<\/p>\n
"You're still here," I whispered.<\/p>\n
He looked at me immediately.<\/p>\n
"Of course."<\/p>\n
I wanted to ask him why.<\/p>\n
Not because I wanted him to leave.<\/p>\n
Because I had spent so many years accepting that people eventually did.<\/p>\n
My biological father, according to Aunt Ruth, had disappeared before my birth.<\/p>\n
My mother had died when I was eleven months old.<\/p>\n
Aunt Ruth had raised me, then died when I was twenty-two.<\/p>\n
And now Vance had refused to come home when I needed him.<\/p>\n
I had become very familiar with people being absent.<\/p>\n
Warren seemed to understand something of what I was thinking.<\/p>\n
He touched my hand briefly.<\/p>\n
"I'm not going anywhere."<\/p>\n
I wanted to believe him.<\/p>\n
Then the stretcher moved through the hospital entrance.<\/p>\n
Everything became faster.<\/p>\n
A nurse approached.<\/p>\n
Another medical professional began asking questions.<\/p>\n
The paramedic explained what had happened at home.<\/p>\n
I heard my name repeated.<\/p>\n
Natalie Brooks Mercer.<\/p>\n
I had never felt so disconnected from my own name.<\/p>\n
It sounded like someone else's emergency.<\/p>\n
Someone else's life.<\/p>\n
Someone else's frightened baby.<\/p>\n
A doctor moved beside me.<\/p>\n
She asked how long I had been experiencing the contractions.<\/p>\n
I answered.<\/p>\n
She asked whether I had noticed bleeding.<\/p>\n
I told her what I could remember.<\/p>\n
Then she asked about the baby.<\/p>\n
"Have you felt any movement since the ambulance arrived?"<\/p>\n
I pressed my lips together.<\/p>\n
"No."<\/p>\n
I hated that answer.<\/p>\n
I wanted to change it.<\/p>\n
I wanted to tell her that everything was normal.<\/p>\n
That my son had kicked so hard I could feel him beneath my ribs.<\/p>\n
But I couldn't.<\/p>\n
The doctor nodded and gave instructions to the staff.<\/p>\n
They moved me toward an area where they could assess the baby.<\/p>\n
I glanced back.<\/p>\n
Warren was following.<\/p>\n
A nurse briefly stopped him.<\/p>\n
He explained something quietly.<\/p>\n
I couldn't hear the words.<\/p>\n
Then the nurse looked toward me.<\/p>\n
"Is he a family member?"<\/p>\n
I stared at Warren.<\/p>\n
Only minutes earlier, he had told me he believed I was his daughter.<\/p>\n
I hadn't asked to see the documents.<\/p>\n
I hadn't heard the full explanation.<\/p>\n
I didn't know how he had spent thirty-two years without finding me.<\/p>\n
But I knew how he had behaved when he found me on the floor.<\/p>\n
I nodded.<\/p>\n
"Yes."<\/p>\n
The word surprised me.<\/p>\n
It surprised him too.<\/p>\n
I saw it in his face.<\/p>\n
He didn't smile.<\/p>\n
He only looked down for a moment, as though he needed to collect himself.<\/p>\n
Then he followed us.<\/p>\n
I was taken into a room filled with equipment.<\/p>\n
A monitor was positioned nearby.<\/p>\n
Someone adjusted the bed.<\/p>\n
Someone else placed a blood pressure cuff around my arm.<\/p>\n
I tried to follow every instruction.<\/p>\n
I wanted to be useful.<\/p>\n
I wanted to do something that would help my son.<\/p>\n
But all I could really do was answer questions and wait.<\/p>\n
The medical team began monitoring him.<\/p>\n
I watched their faces.<\/p>\n
That was a mistake.<\/p>\n
Every small change in expression frightened me.<\/p>\n
A nurse leaned closer to the screen.<\/p>\n
The doctor examined the readings.<\/p>\n
Then they exchanged a few words.<\/p>\n
I couldn't understand all of them.<\/p>\n
But I understood enough.<\/p>\n
They were concerned.<\/p>\n
"Is he all right?"<\/p>\n
The doctor turned toward me.<\/p>\n
She spoke calmly.<\/p>\n
She explained that the findings suggested my baby might not be receiving enough oxygen.<\/p>\n
The possibility of a placental complication was being considered.<\/p>\n
They needed to act quickly.<\/p>\n
I stared at her.<\/p>\n
I had known something was wrong.<\/p>\n
I had felt it at home.<\/p>\n
But hearing a doctor confirm that my fear had a medical basis made my hands go cold.<\/p>\n
"Can you help him?"<\/p>\n
The doctor nodded.<\/p>\n
"We're preparing for an emergency cesarean delivery."<\/p>\n
I looked down at my abdomen.<\/p>\n
For almost nine months, my son had been part of me.<\/p>\n
I had felt him growing.<\/p>\n
I had watched my stomach change.<\/p>\n
I had talked to him when the house was quiet.<\/p>\n
I had imagined the day he would finally be placed in my arms.<\/p>\n
I never imagined being told he might not have enough oxygen.<\/p>\n
"Please save him."<\/p>\n
My voice barely worked.<\/p>\n
"Please."<\/p>\n
The doctor reassured me that the team was moving as quickly as possible.<\/p>\n
Then she began explaining what would happen.<\/p>\n
I tried to listen.<\/p>\n
I knew the information mattered.<\/p>\n
But my thoughts kept returning to the same question.<\/p>\n
Was my son still alive?<\/p>\n
No one had told me he wasn't.<\/p>\n
But no one had given me the reassurance I desperately wanted.<\/p>\n
I looked toward Warren.<\/p>\n
He stood near the edge of the room.<\/p>\n
His hands were clasped in front of him.<\/p>\n
He looked as frightened as I felt.<\/p>\n
That frightened me even more.<\/p>\n
He was supposed to be powerful.<\/p>\n
He was supposed to know how to solve impossible problems.<\/p>\n
But he could only stand there while the medical team worked.<\/p>\n
I held out my hand.<\/p>\n
He moved immediately.<\/p>\n
His fingers closed around mine.<\/p>\n
"Don't let them stop," I whispered.<\/p>\n
He shook his head.<\/p>\n
"They won't."<\/p>\n
I looked at him.<\/p>\n
"I need him."<\/p>\n
My voice broke.<\/p>\n
"I haven't even held him yet."<\/p>\n
Warren's eyes filled.<\/p>\n
He leaned toward me.<\/p>\n
"I know."<\/p>\n
Then he said something I hadn't expected.<\/p>\n
"I know, sweetheart."<\/p>\n
It sounded natural coming from him.<\/p>\n
Not practiced.<\/p>\n
Not carefully chosen.<\/p>\n
Like a father speaking to his frightened daughter.<\/p>\n
I closed my eyes.<\/p>\n
For a moment, I remembered Aunt Ruth sitting beside my bed when I was sick as a child.<\/p>\n
She had called me sweetheart too.<\/p>\n
She had brushed my hair away from my forehead.<\/p>\n
She had stayed until I fell asleep.<\/p>\n
The memory nearly broke me.<\/p>\n
I had lost her years earlier.<\/p>\n
And now, at the worst moment of my adult life, another person was holding my hand with the same quiet care.<\/p>\n
The nurse approached with paperwork.<\/p>\n
She explained that consent was needed for the emergency surgery.<\/p>\n
I listened as she described what the doctors intended to do.<\/p>\n
I knew I had to make the decision.<\/p>\n
There was no question in my mind.<\/p>\n
I wanted them to do whatever was medically necessary.<\/p>\n
I signed where she indicated.<\/p>\n
My handwriting was shaky.<\/p>\n
The pen felt too heavy.<\/p>\n
I looked at my signature afterward.<\/p>\n
The capital N leaned awkwardly.<\/p>\n
The final letters crowded together.<\/p>\n
I remember feeling embarrassed by how untidy it looked.<\/p>\n
Such a foolish thing to worry about.<\/p>\n
But my mind was trying to focus on anything ordinary.<\/p>\n
Anything other than the possibility of losing my son.<\/p>\n
The nurse gathered the documents.<\/p>\n
Then she asked whether my husband was available.<\/p>\n
I froze.<\/p>\n
Vance.<\/p>\n
For several minutes, I had almost forgotten about him.<\/p>\n
Not forgotten that I was married.<\/p>\n
Not forgotten what he had done.<\/p>\n
But forgotten that he was supposed to be the person standing beside me.<\/p>\n
The nurse looked toward Warren.<\/p>\n
Then back at me.<\/p>\n
"Is your husband here?"<\/p>\n
I shook my head.<\/p>\n
"No."<\/p>\n
She waited.<\/p>\n
Perhaps she expected me to explain.<\/p>\n
Perhaps she thought he was on his way.<\/p>\n
I couldn't tell her the whole story.<\/p>\n
I couldn't say that he had chosen to remain at his mother's birthday party.<\/p>\n
I couldn't explain the music.<\/p>\n
The champagne glasses.<\/p>\n
Diane's accusation.<\/p>\n
Dessert.<\/p>\n
The word still made me feel sick.<\/p>\n
So I said only what was true.<\/p>\n
"He isn't here."<\/p>\n
Warren's hand tightened around mine.<\/p>\n
Not painfully.<\/p>\n
Just enough to remind me that I wasn't alone.<\/p>\n
The nurse nodded.<\/p>\n
She didn't ask for details.<\/p>\n
She returned to the medical preparations.<\/p>\n
I was grateful.<\/p>\n
I didn't have the strength to defend my marriage.<\/p>\n
I didn't have the strength to explain why my husband had abandoned me.<\/p>\n
I barely had the strength to remain calm.<\/p>\n
Another contraction began.<\/p>\n
I gripped the sheet.<\/p>\n
The pain spread across my abdomen.<\/p>\n
Someone spoke to me.<\/p>\n
I tried to answer.<\/p>\n
The room seemed to narrow.<\/p>\n
The lights grew harsh.<\/p>\n
I heard the doctor explaining that they needed to move.<\/p>\n
Urgently.<\/p>\n
Warren stepped back to make room.<\/p>\n
For one terrible moment, I thought he was leaving.<\/p>\n
I reached toward him.<\/p>\n
He noticed.<\/p>\n
"I'm right here."<\/p>\n
I nodded.<\/p>\n
Then he looked toward the medical team.<\/p>\n
His expression changed.<\/p>\n
The uncertainty remained, but his voice became steadier.<\/p>\n
He told them he was my father.<\/p>\n
The words filled the space between us.<\/p>\n
"My father."<\/p>\n
I had never heard a man say that about me before.<\/p>\n
Not while I was old enough to remember.<\/p>\n
A nurse glanced toward him.<\/p>\n
Warren continued.<\/p>\n
He asked them to provide every treatment my son and I required.<\/p>\n
He said he would make sure financial arrangements were handled.<\/p>\n
Money would not stand in the way.<\/p>\n
I watched the nurse's expression.<\/p>\n
She didn't seem impressed by his status.<\/p>\n
She was focused on getting me the care I needed.<\/p>\n
I found that comforting.<\/p>\n
For once, Warren Sterling's money wasn't the most important thing in the room.<\/p>\n
My son was.<\/p>\n
The medical team was already working to help him.<\/p>\n
Warren seemed to understand that.<\/p>\n
He stopped speaking.<\/p>\n
He stood aside.<\/p>\n
And he let them do their jobs.<\/p>\n
I looked at him again.<\/p>\n
He had told a room full of strangers that I was his daughter.<\/p>\n
He hadn't hesitated.<\/p>\n
He hadn't qualified it.<\/p>\n
He hadn't mentioned the investigator or the letters.<\/p>\n
He had simply claimed me.<\/p>\n
I wished I had time to understand what that meant.<\/p>\n
Instead, the staff began moving my stretcher.<\/p>\n
I was being taken toward surgery.<\/p>\n
Warren followed as far as he was permitted.<\/p>\n
The corridor lights passed above me.<\/p>\n
One after another.<\/p>\n
I tried counting them.<\/p>\n
I lost track.<\/p>\n
I heard wheels turning.<\/p>\n
Medical staff speaking.<\/p>\n
My own breathing.<\/p>\n
Then I saw Warren walking beside me.<\/p>\n
His face looked strained.<\/p>\n
I wanted to tell him something.<\/p>\n
I wasn't sure what.<\/p>\n
Thank you.<\/p>\n
Don't leave.<\/p>\n
Tell me about my mother.<\/p>\n
All three thoughts came at once.<\/p>\n
I reached toward him.<\/p>\n
He took my hand.<\/p>\n
"There's so much I don't know," I whispered.<\/p>\n
He leaned closer.<\/p>\n
"About me?"<\/p>\n
I nodded.<\/p>\n
"About everything."<\/p>\n
His eyes softened.<\/p>\n
"We'll talk when you're better."<\/p>\n
I wanted to argue.<\/p>\n
I wanted him to tell me now.<\/p>\n
I wanted to know why he had spent years believing I was gone.<\/p>\n
But another wave of pain came.<\/p>\n
I closed my eyes.<\/p>\n
When it eased, I found myself looking at him again.<\/p>\n
"Promise me something."<\/p>\n
He waited.<\/p>\n
"Don't leave before I wake up."<\/p>\n
His face changed.<\/p>\n
I saw how deeply the request affected him.<\/p>\n
He nodded.<\/p>\n
"I'll be here."<\/p>\n
I held his gaze.<\/p>\n
Then I said the one thing that mattered more.<\/p>\n
"And please find out if my baby is okay."<\/p>\n
His eyes filled again.<\/p>\n
"I will."<\/p>\n
The staff moved me through another doorway.<\/p>\n
This time, Warren couldn't follow.<\/p>\n
I watched him stop.<\/p>\n
He stood in the corridor with his wet coat hanging heavily from his shoulders.<\/p>\n
He raised his hand slightly.<\/p>\n
I tried to raise mine.<\/p>\n
Then the doors moved between us.<\/p>\n
I was taken into the operating area.<\/p>\n
The room was bright.<\/p>\n
Too bright.<\/p>\n
I heard equipment being prepared.<\/p>\n
A medical professional explained the anesthesia.<\/p>\n
Someone checked my identity again.<\/p>\n
Someone confirmed the procedure.<\/p>\n
I answered questions.<\/p>\n
I tried to cooperate.<\/p>\n
But I kept thinking about the hallway floor.<\/p>\n
The ivory envelope.<\/p>\n
Vance's voice.<\/p>\n
Warren's hand.<\/p>\n
How strange that all of those things belonged to the same evening.<\/p>\n
I thought about our son.<\/p>\n
I imagined his tiny hands.<\/p>\n
I imagined the way his face might resemble mine.<\/p>\n
Or Vance's.<\/p>\n
Then I stopped myself.<\/p>\n
I didn't want to think about Vance.<\/p>\n
Not now.<\/p>\n
I wanted to think about the baby.<\/p>\n
Only the baby.<\/p>\n
A nurse adjusted something near my head.<\/p>\n
She spoke gently.<\/p>\n
I asked whether she had children.<\/p>\n
The question came out without warning.<\/p>\n
She answered briefly.<\/p>\n
I don't remember her exact words.<\/p>\n
I remember her tone.<\/p>\n
Kind.<\/p>\n
Steady.<\/p>\n
The sort of voice I had needed at home.<\/p>\n
I looked toward the monitor.<\/p>\n
The medical staff were watching it closely.<\/p>\n
Someone moved quickly.<\/p>\n
Another person spoke.<\/p>\n
Then a warning sound began.<\/p>\n
It cut through everything else.<\/p>\n
I turned my head.<\/p>\n
The doctor was looking at the monitoring equipment.<\/p>\n
I heard her giving instructions.<\/p>\n
The baby's heartbeat signal had become unreliable.<\/p>\n
They were moving faster.<\/p>\n
I wanted to ask what that meant.<\/p>\n
I wanted to demand an answer.<\/p>\n
But an oxygen mask was placed over my face.<\/p>\n
Someone told me to breathe.<\/p>\n
I tried.<\/p>\n
I could hear the alarm.<\/p>\n
I could hear the team working.<\/p>\n
I could hear the doctor speaking.<\/p>\n
Then the anesthesia began pulling me away from the room.<\/p>\n
My last clear thought was not about Vance.<\/p>\n
It wasn't about Warren's money.<\/p>\n
It wasn't even about the letters.<\/p>\n
It was about my son.<\/p>\n
I had carried him for thirty-nine weeks.<\/p>\n
I had learned the rhythm of his movements.<\/p>\n
I had imagined his face without ever seeing it.<\/p>\n
And I was terrified that I might never hear him cry.<\/p>\n
I tried to hold onto that thought.<\/p>\n
To stay awake.<\/p>\n
To keep listening.<\/p>\n
But the voices grew distant.<\/p>\n
The lights blurred.<\/p>\n
And I lost consciousness before anyone could tell me whether my little boy was safe.<\/p>\n
The ambulance doors opened before I felt ready. I don't know what I had expected. Perhaps a moment to understand what Warren had just told me. Perhaps enough time to … <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":17558,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-17563","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-drama-sory"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastestdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17563","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastestdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastestdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastestdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastestdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=17563"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/lastestdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17563\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":17583,"href":"https:\/\/lastestdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17563\/revisions\/17583"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastestdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/17558"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastestdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=17563"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastestdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=17563"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastestdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=17563"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}