Chapter 5 - Thirty-Two Weeks
Emma’s pregnancy became increasingly difficult.
She continued working from home, reviewing building plans and restoration proposals from her small apartment.
At night, she often stood near the window and looked toward the distant towers downtown.
Vincent lived somewhere among those lights.
She never searched for news about him, but his face still appeared in business articles.
Eventually, she saw a photograph of him attending a charity gala with Brooke.
The caption described Brooke as his rumored partner.
Emma closed the page and cried until she could no longer breathe evenly.
Lena found her sitting on the kitchen floor.
“You need to stop doing this to yourself.”
“He moved on.”
“You don’t know that.”
“I saw them.”
“You also saw photographs of yourself and Daniel that created a false story.”
Emma looked up.
Lena knelt beside her.
“You keep telling me the evidence against you was misleading. Why are you assuming the evidence against him is complete?”
Emma had no answer.
At her next medical appointment, the doctor warned that her blood pressure was dangerously high.
“You need rest,” he said. “Any severe stress could increase the risk of early labor.”
Emma promised to be careful.
Three days later, another anonymous message arrived.
Vincent and Brooke are announcing their engagement tonight.
Attached was an invitation to a private dinner at the Hale estate.
The invitation was real, but the purpose had been altered. It was a company anniversary dinner, not an engagement celebration.
Emma stared at the image until the words blurred.
Then a sharp pain crossed her abdomen.
She dropped the phone.
Lena was working at the hospital, so Emma called for a taxi rather than an ambulance. She made it halfway to the lobby before another wave of pain forced her to sit on the floor.
The building manager found her and called emergency services.
At St. Mercy Hospital, doctors confirmed that she had entered premature labor at thirty-two weeks.
The medical team worked quickly while Lena remained beside her.
“Call Vincent,” Emma whispered.
Lena held her hand.
“I will.”
At the admissions desk, Lena asked a nurse to contact Emma’s emergency contact.
The nurse searched the file.
“Her emergency contact is listed as Dr. Lena Ortiz.”
“That’s me. There should be another name.”
“There isn’t.”
Lena stared at the screen.
“Search for Vincent Hale.”
The nurse searched again.
“There’s a history note showing that name was removed.”
“When?”
“Five months ago.”
Lena’s face changed.
“By whose request?”
“The authorization form says Emma requested it.”
“That’s impossible.”
Before Lena could investigate further, a doctor called her back into the treatment area.
Emma’s condition had worsened.
The baby was delivered shortly before midnight.
Tiny but alive.
Emma was exhausted and barely conscious when the infant was placed near her.
“Is my baby breathing?” she asked.
“Yes,” Lena said, fighting tears. “Your baby is here.”
Emma looked at the child and whispered the name she had chosen months earlier.
“Samuel.”
Across the city, Vincent stood in the Hale estate ballroom while Brooke accepted congratulations from guests who assumed they were about to announce an engagement.
Vincent had made no such decision.
He had invited Brooke because she had helped save the company’s largest project, but he felt increasingly trapped by the expectations around them.
Then Lena called his private office number.
The assistant who answered nearly dismissed the call until Lena said Emma’s name.
Vincent took the phone.
“Where is she?”
“St. Mercy Hospital.”
His blood turned cold.
“What happened?”
“She delivered a premature baby.”
The room seemed to tilt.
Lena spoke again.
“Vincent, Emma asked for you.”
He was already moving toward the door.
Brooke saw his expression and followed him.
“Where are you going?”
“To the hospital.”
Her confidence vanished.
“Why?”
May you like
Vincent looked at her.
“Emma had a baby.”
