Chapter 17 - The Birth
The placental separation had worsened.
Dr. Reed did not soften the explanation.
“Your baby is beginning to show signs that staying inside is becoming unsafe.”
Khloe looked at Marcus.
He held her hand.
She looked back at the doctor.
“Then deliver her.”
Marcus leaned closer.
“You’re sure?”
Khloe nodded.
“I’m sure.”
The operating room was prepared.
Marcus changed into surgical clothing.
He stood beside Khloe’s head while the medical team worked.
Khloe trembled.
“Marcus.”
“I’m here.”
“If something happens—”
“No.”
“Listen to me.”
His eyes met hers.
“If something happens to me, you stay with her.”
Marcus’s face tightened.
“No.”
“Promise me.”
“Nothing is happening to you.”
“Promise.”
He lowered his forehead against hers.
“I promise.”
Minutes later, the room changed.
Movement became faster.
Voices sharpened.
Then Dr. Reed said, “She’s coming.”
Khloe held her breath.
For one terrible second, there was silence.
Then a small cry filled the room.
Marcus stopped breathing.
Khloe began crying instantly.
“Is she okay?”
A neonatal specialist carried the tiny baby toward a warming station.
“She’s breathing.”
“Is she okay?”
Khloe repeated.
“She’s early.”
The doctor answered.
“But she’s fighting.”
Marcus looked toward his daughter.
She was impossibly small.
Her arms moved beneath the lights.
A nurse fitted a tiny oxygen mask.
Khloe reached toward her.
“Can I see her?”
They brought the baby close for only a moment.
Khloe touched one tiny hand.
The baby’s fingers curled weakly around hers.
Marcus cried without hiding it.
“What’s her name?”
The nurse asked.
Khloe looked at Marcus.
They had discussed names months earlier.
One had always returned.
“Amelia.”
Marcus whispered.
“Amelia Grace Thorne.”
The baby was taken to the neonatal intensive care unit.
Khloe remained in surgery.
Marcus kept his promise.
He followed Amelia.
Through the glass, he watched doctors place his daughter inside an incubator.
Samuel stood beside him.
“She’s strong.”
Marcus stared at her.
“She shouldn’t have had to be.”
Samuel said nothing.
Marcus’s phone buzzed.
David.
He answered.
“We found Nolan.”
Marcus’s expression changed.
“Where?”
“In the lower service tunnel.”
“Alive?”
“Yes.”
“Did he have anything?”
David hesitated.
“A hospital access badge.”
“Medication.”
“A syringe.”
Marcus closed his eyes.
“What medication?”
“Enough to cause a serious cardiac event if administered incorrectly.”
Marcus turned away from the NICU window.
“Who was it labeled for?”
David answered.
“Khloe.”
Marcus looked back at his daughter.
The rage inside him became almost unbearable.
Then David added something.
“Nolan had a burner phone.”
“Anything useful?”
“One unsent message.”
Marcus waited.
“It says, SHE SURVIVED THE FIRST EVENT.”
Marcus’s eyes went cold.
May you like
David finished.
“THE SECOND WILL NOT FAIL.”
