Chapter 4 - The Race in the Dark
The ambulance arrived within eight minutes, its sirens cutting through the heavy rain.
Paramedics rushed into the cottage and loaded Norah onto a stretcher.
“Heart rate is elevated, contractions are three minutes apart,” a medic shouted.
Lily grabbed Norah’s hospital bag, tears streaming down her pale face.
“I’m coming with you,” Lily insisted, refusing to let go of Norah’s hand.
They climbed into the back of the ambulance together.
As the doors slammed shut, Norah looked out the rear window.
She saw the shadow in the yard step into the glow of the streetlamp.
It was Madison.
Madison stood completely still in the pouring rain, watching the ambulance pull away with an emotionless stare.
Norah shivered, a deep sense of dread settling over her.
“Stay with me, Norah,” the paramedic urged, checking her blood pressure.
Across the city, Ethan was sitting in his car outside Madison’s building, gripping the steering wheel until his knuckles turned white.
His phone began to vibrate violently in the cup holder.
It was his mother, Diane.
He ignored it.
It vibrated again.
He finally answered, his voice completely hollow.
“What is it, Mom?”
“Ethan, where are you?” Diane demanded, her voice unusually shrill.
“I’m dealing with something.”
“Norah is in labor,” Diane yelled into the phone.
“She’s at Boston General, and they are rushing her into an emergency delivery.”
Ethan dropped the phone.
He slammed his foot on the gas pedal, tearing away from the curb.
His entire life was disintegrating in the span of a few hours.
He broke every speed limit, his mind racing with guilt and terror.
When he arrived at the hospital, he sprinted through the sliding glass doors of the emergency room.
He ran toward the maternity ward, desperate to fix whatever he could.
He reached the double doors of the labor and delivery wing.
A heavy hand clamped down on his shoulder, violently yanking him backward.
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Ethan spun around, ready to throw a punch.
He found himself staring directly into the furious eyes of Norah’s older brother, Caleb.
