Chapter 4 - The Night the Cribs Stayed Empty
Audrey woke shortly after midnight with a sharp tightening across her abdomen.
Dominic was not home.
She called him three times.
Each call went unanswered.
When the pain became stronger, Audrey contacted the emergency number provided by her doctor. An ambulance arrived eleven minutes later.
At the hospital, the medical team discovered that Audrey was in premature labor.
The babies were in distress.
A nurse asked whether someone could come to support her.
Audrey called Dominic again.
This time, Natalie answered.
“He’s busy,” Natalie said.
Audrey struggled to breathe through another contraction.
“Tell my husband that his children are being born.”
Silence followed.
Then Dominic’s voice came through the phone.
“Audrey?”
“You need to come to the hospital.”
“I’m at an investor event.”
“Dominic, I’m thirty weeks pregnant. The doctors are preparing for emergency surgery.”
He lowered his voice.
“I can’t leave right now. This meeting affects the entire company.”
“Our children may not survive.”
“Don’t say things like that.”
“Come to the hospital.”
“I’ll get there when I can.”
The call ended.
Audrey stared at the dark screen.
A nurse gently took the phone from her hand.
“We’re going to take care of you.”
The twins were delivered less than an hour later.
The first baby, a boy Audrey named Noah, weighed three pounds and one ounce. His sister, Lily, weighed slightly less.
Both were immediately moved to the neonatal intensive care unit.
Audrey saw them for only seconds before the medical team carried them away.
She spent the next several hours drifting between exhaustion and fear. Machines sounded around her. Nurses entered and left. Every time the door opened, Audrey expected Dominic.
He did not arrive until nearly noon.
Natalie came with him.
She wore the same red dress Audrey had seen in photographs from the investor celebration. Her pregnancy was now impossible to conceal.
Dominic entered carrying a large envelope.
He looked irritated rather than worried.
“You shouldn’t have brought her here,” Audrey whispered.
“Natalie is part of my life now.”
Audrey looked toward the bassinets positioned beside her bed. The twins had been temporarily brought in so she could hold them under a nurse’s supervision.
“Have you even looked at your children?”
“I know they’re being treated.”
“Look at them.”
Dominic glanced at the twins for less than a second.
Then he removed the divorce papers from the envelope.
“This marriage has been over for months,” he said. “Dragging it out helps no one.”
Natalie folded her arms behind him.
Audrey stared at the documents.
“You brought divorce papers into a NICU recovery room?”
“I need a clean break.”
“Your children were born last night.”
“I will deal with custody later.”
Natalie stepped forward.
“Dominic needs stability. The company is entering a critical stage.”
Audrey looked at Natalie’s stomach.
“How far along are you?”
Natalie lifted her chin.
“Five months.”
Audrey turned back to Dominic.
That meant the affair had begun while he was still pretending to celebrate the twins.
Dominic placed a pen on the blanket.
“I’ve already separated the finances. The accounts are empty, and the house is connected to company debt. You can stay with relatives or apply for assistance through the hospital.”
“You emptied our accounts?”
“I protected my assets.”
Audrey’s voice became dangerously calm.
“Much of that money belonged to me before our marriage.”
“Prove it.”
The nurse standing near the door looked horrified.
Dominic pushed the papers closer.
“Sign them. You and those babies are on your own.”
Audrey looked down at Noah and Lily.
Then she signed.
Dominic smiled.
He believed he had won.
Audrey picked up her phone and called the number she had spent years refusing to use.
Silas answered after the first ring.
“Audrey?”
May you like
Her voice broke.
“Grandfather, someone forgot these are your great-grandchildren.”
