Chapter 4 - The Longest Night
Everything after that came in fragments.
A ceiling moving above me.
A nurse saying my name.
Cold air.
Bright lights.
Someone telling me to keep breathing.
Another contraction.
Then darkness.
When I woke, it was 2:37 in the morning.
My father was sitting beside the bed.
His head was lowered.
For one terrifying second, I thought the empty chair beside him meant the worst.
Then he noticed my eyes were open.
“He’s alive.”
I stared at him.
Dad smiled through tears.
“Your son is alive.”
I covered my mouth.
“They stopped the contractions.”
“The doctors say both of you need monitoring, but he’s holding on.”
I sobbed so hard my ribs hurt.
Dad moved closer.
I reached for his hand.
Outside the room, two deputies stood in the corridor.
I knew immediately why.
“David?”
“He tried to come into the hospital.”
“What happened?”
“He was told you did not want him here.”
“And?”
“He informed security that he had legal rights as your husband.”
That sounded exactly like David.
“What did you do?”
“Nothing.”
I looked at him.
Dad understood my confusion.
“I am your father tonight, Anna.”
He leaned back.
“I called emergency services because you were in danger.”
“I gave the deputies the information I had.”
“After that, I stepped away.”
He looked me directly in the eyes.
“I will not use my office to decide what happens to David.”
I knew what that meant.
My father could have frightened people.
He could have made calls.
He could have turned David’s fear into a weapon.
Instead, he was giving David something David had never given me.
Due process.
“And if he walks away?”
Dad’s expression hardened.
“Then we live with the lawful result.”
He paused.
“But evidence has a way of becoming louder than powerful men.”
A nurse entered with a clear plastic evidence bag.
Inside was my broken phone.
“The deputy asked whether you recognize this.”
“Yes.”
“It was recovered at the house.”
I stared at the cracked screen.
The device looked ruined.
The nurse continued.
“They also recovered something else.”
“What?”
She hesitated.
“A guest had been recording Christmas dinner before the incident.”
My father looked up.
I stopped breathing.
The nurse gave me a small, careful smile.
“Apparently the camera kept running after everyone left the dining room.”
May you like
For the first time since Sylvia pushed me, I felt something stronger than fear.
I felt the truth beginning to move.
