Chapter 9 - The Red ZoneThe emergency room doors opened.
"We need help!"
Nurses rushed toward Leah.
She was taken away almost immediately.
David followed until a doctor stopped him.
"Placental abruption."
The words hit him like a hammer.
"The baby's heart rate is dropping."
David's face went pale.
"We need an emergency C-section."
Leah reached for him.
"Don't let her in."
David grabbed her hand.
"She won't get near you."
"I need you to promise me."
"I promise."
The operating room doors closed.
David stood outside.
Rainwater still soaked his clothes.
Blood stained his hands.
For the first time since becoming a husband, he felt completely powerless.
He couldn't drive.
He couldn't fight.
He couldn't protect Leah with his hands.
All he could do was wait.
Then police officers arrived.
They told him his mother's car had been found.
She had disappeared from the crash.
David looked toward the maternity hallway.
"She's coming here."
The officers exchanged a glance.
They immediately secured the floor.
But David knew his mother.
She had spent decades learning how to make people underestimate her.
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And she had one advantage.
She knew exactly how people behaved when they saw an elderly mother who looked harmless.
