Chapter 2 - The Missing Evidence
The hospital room was a terrifying blur of blue scrubs and shouting medical professionals.
A doctor I had never seen before took over bagging Rosalie, forcing air into her tiny, failing lungs.
Kevin burst through the doorway holding two cups of cafeteria coffee, his face instantly draining of all color.
“What is happening?” Kevin yelled, dropping the hot coffee completely onto the linoleum floor.
“Your mother-in-law snuck in here and turned off the ventilator!” I screamed back at him over the blaring alarms.
Kevin stared at me like I had lost my mind, completely unable to process the accusation.
After six agonizing minutes of continuous bagging and emergency medication, the shrill alarm finally silenced.
Rosalie’s heart rate stabilized, and the terrifying blue tint faded from her fragile skin.
The attending doctor wiped sweat from his forehead and looked at the blue dial on the machine.
“Someone intentionally tampered with this life support equipment,” the doctor stated in a grim, serious voice.
“We are calling the police immediately, and nobody is allowed to leave this floor.”
I fell to my knees on the wet floor, sobbing in pure relief that my baby had survived the assassination attempt.
Kevin helped me up, his hands shaking violently as he wrapped his arms around my shoulders.
Two uniformed police officers arrived at the NICU less than ten minutes later to take my official statement.
I told them exactly what my mother had texted me about the gender reveal party.
I told them how I had blocked her number, and how she had retaliated by sneaking into the hospital.
I pointed down at Brooklyn, who bravely repeated what she had seen Grandma do in the dark.
The older police officer wrote everything down in his notebook with a deep frown.
“We will go pull the security camera footage from the hallway right now,” the officer promised.
“If she came onto this floor without authorization, we will have her arrested for attempted homicide by morning.”
I felt a fierce, burning surge of justice rising in my chest.
I could not wait to see my mother handcuffed in front of her precious friends at Courtney’s ridiculous gender reveal.
Ten minutes later, the police officer returned to the room with the hospital’s head of security.
Neither man was making eye contact with me.
“What did the cameras show?” Kevin demanded, stepping protectively in front of me.
The head of security cleared his throat nervously.
“I am incredibly sorry, sir, but there is no footage.”
“The cameras on this specific wing were taken offline for routine server maintenance at midnight.”
My stomach violently dropped to the floor.
“Are you telling me there is absolutely no proof that my mother was in this room?” I asked, my voice trembling with rage.
“We only have your six-year-old daughter’s testimony,” the police officer explained gently.
“And unfortunately, a child's statement alone is not enough for a judge to issue an arrest warrant without physical evidence.”
I stared at the officer, realizing that my mother was going to walk away completely free.
Then, Gloria the nurse walked back into the room holding a small, shiny object she had found kicked under the recliner.
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“She might not be on camera,” Gloria said, holding up a heavy, gold designer earring.
“But whoever turned that dial definitely dropped this when they leaned over the incubator.”
