Chapter 1 - The Woman in the Next Bed
Leah Carver had spent most of her pregnancy believing the greatest danger waiting for her at Briar Glen Maternity Pavilion would be something medical.
She was wrong.
The first warning came from the woman in the bed beside hers.
Simone Vale waited until the nurse finished checking Leah’s blood pressure and disappeared into the hallway.
Then she lowered her phone.
“You should ask for a different doctor.”
Leah looked over.
“What?”
Simone stared toward the doorway before answering.
“Dr. Rusk.”
Leah felt something tighten in her chest.
“Why?”
Simone hesitated.
“That woman likes paperwork too much.”
Leah almost laughed.
It sounded ridiculous.
“What does that mean?”
Simone turned her phone facedown on the blanket.
“It means every conversation with her becomes part of your chart.”
“She’s a doctor.”
“That isn’t what I mean.”
Simone’s voice had changed.
The careless woman who had spent hours pretending to be at a wellness retreat was gone.
Now she looked frightened.
“Yesterday she asked whether I ever felt overwhelmed.”
Leah shrugged.
“That sounds normal.”
“I said yes.”
Simone leaned closer.
“Then she asked whether I had ever imagined leaving my baby somewhere safe and disappearing.”
Leah’s expression changed.
“What did you say?”
“I told her no.”
Simone looked toward the hallway again.
“Then this morning another doctor asked me the exact same question.”
A chill moved through Leah.
Before she could respond, footsteps approached.
Simone immediately picked up her phone.
Dr. Celia Rusk entered carrying a tablet.
Doreen Carver followed directly behind her.
Leah sat upright.
“Doreen?”
Her mother-in-law smiled.
“Surprise.”
Leah did not smile back.
“How did you know I was here?”
Doreen’s expression barely changed.
“Nathan called me.”
Of course he had.
Doreen walked toward the bed carrying an enormous arrangement of white roses.
She wore pearl earrings, a pale gray coat, and the same expression she always wore when entering Leah’s home.
The expression of someone inspecting property.
“My poor girl.”
Doreen touched Leah’s shoulder.
“You must be terrified.”
“I’m fine.”
“You don’t have to pretend.”
“I’m not pretending.”
Doreen exchanged a glance with Dr. Rusk.
It lasted less than a second.
But Leah saw it.
Dr. Rusk opened the chart on her tablet.
“Have you been sleeping?”
“Not much.”
“Anxiety?”
“I had a nightmare last night.”
Doreen sighed sympathetically.
“She’s been very emotional.”
Leah turned toward her.
“I’m sitting right here.”
“I know, sweetheart.”
Doreen smiled.
“That’s why I’m worried.”
Dr. Rusk typed something.
Leah watched her fingers.
“What are you writing?”
“Routine notes.”
“About what?”
“Your emotional state.”
Leah’s stomach tightened.
“I said I had a nightmare.”
“Which can sometimes indicate increased prenatal anxiety.”
Leah stared at her.
“I’m thirty-eight weeks pregnant and unexpectedly hospitalized.”
She gestured toward the room.
“I think anxiety is allowed.”
Simone coughed softly from the next bed.
It sounded suspiciously like a laugh.
Doreen ignored her.
“Nathan told me you were sitting alone in the nursery at three this morning.”
Leah turned slowly.
“He told you that?”
“He worries about you.”
“No.”
Leah’s voice hardened.
“He reports to you.”
The smile vanished from Doreen’s face.
Dr. Rusk stepped between them verbally before the tension could rise further.
“We simply want to make sure you have adequate support.”
“I have support.”
“Of course.”
Dr. Rusk tapped the screen again.
“Your husband and mother-in-law appear extremely involved.”
That sentence should have sounded reassuring.
Instead, Leah felt trapped.
Later that afternoon, Nathan arrived carrying Leah’s hospital bag.
He kissed her forehead.
Then he immediately asked whether his mother had visited.
“She did.”
Nathan smiled.
“Good.”
Leah watched him place the bag beside the bed.
“Did you tell her about my nightmare?”
Nathan stopped moving.
For half a second, guilt flashed across his face.
“Mom asked how you were doing.”
“That wasn’t an answer.”
“She’s worried.”
“Everyone keeps saying that.”
Nathan sighed.
“Leah, please.”
He lowered his voice.
“We have enough going on without you turning everything into a fight about my mother.”
Leah stared at him.
“I didn’t invite her into my medical care.”
“She’s trying to help.”
“I don’t want her help.”
Nathan’s jaw tightened.
Simone quietly inserted earbuds.
Or pretended to.
Nathan sat beside Leah.
“When the baby arrives, things are going to be different.”
Leah looked at him.
“How?”
“I’m going to protect you.”
The words were exactly what Leah had wanted to hear for months.
Nathan took her hand.
“No more stress.”
“No more arguments.”
“No more Mom showing up whenever she wants.”
Leah studied his face.
“You mean that?”
“I promise.”
He kissed her fingers.
“You and our son come first.”
For a moment, Leah believed him.
Then Nathan’s phone vibrated.
The screen lit up between them.
MOM.
Nathan immediately picked it up.
“I need to take this.”
He walked into the hallway.
Leah watched the door close behind him.
Simone removed one earbud.
“Your husband lies badly.”
Leah turned.
“Excuse me?”
Simone looked at the closed door.
“I know because I do it professionally.”
Leah almost smiled.
Almost.
Then Simone’s expression became serious.
“Whatever your mother-in-law wants from this hospital, figure it out before you give birth.”
That night, Leah woke at 1:17 a.m.
Her bed was empty beside her.
Nathan had gone home hours earlier.
The maternity ward was quiet.
Then Leah noticed someone standing outside the partly open door.
Doreen.
She was speaking softly to Dr. Rusk.
Leah closed her eyes and pretended to sleep.
Doreen’s voice drifted into the room.
“How much documentation do you need?”
Dr. Rusk answered too quietly for Leah to understand.
Then Doreen spoke again.
“We cannot afford another incident like the one with Nathan’s father.”
Leah’s eyes opened.
May you like
Nathan had always told her his father died in an accident.
And suddenly Leah wondered whether that was another story Doreen had written for everyone else.
