Chapter 3 - The Labor That Came Too Soon
Nathan denied everything.
“I never logged into your account.”
Leah stared at him across the hospital room.
“Then someone guessed my password?”
“I don’t know.”
“The password is our anniversary.”
Nathan looked away.
“That isn’t exactly impossible to guess.”
Leah laughed without humor.
“You’re serious?”
“Why would I forge your signature?”
“That is what I’m trying to understand.”
Nathan stepped closer.
“Leah, you’re exhausted.”
There it was again.
Not angry.
Not suspicious.
Exhausted.
A word that made every reasonable question sound unstable.
“You need sleep.”
“I need answers.”
Nathan rubbed his temples.
“Mom was probably trying to help.”
Leah stared at him.
“Did you just admit she did it?”
“No.”
“You said she was probably trying to help.”
“I said probably.”
Leah’s pulse began racing.
Then a sudden cramp ripped across her abdomen.
She grabbed the bedrail.
Nathan’s face changed.
“Leah?”
Another contraction hit.
Harder.
Mae rushed into the room minutes later.
By sunset, Leah was in active labor.
The world narrowed into pain, bright lights, voices, monitors, and Nathan’s hand gripping hers.
For six hours, he never left.
He wiped sweat from her forehead.
He whispered encouragement.
When she cried that she couldn’t continue, Nathan leaned close.
“You can.”
“I’m right here.”
“I’m not leaving.”
For those six hours, Leah saw the man she had married.
And that made what happened afterward hurt even more.
At 11:42 p.m., their son was born.
Seven pounds, three ounces.
Dark hair.
Tiny clenched fists.
A furious cry that made Leah burst into tears.
Nathan cried too.
They named him Owen.
When the nurse placed him against Leah’s chest, everything else disappeared.
Doreen.
Dr. Rusk.
The forged form.
The whispers.
All of it.
Leah touched Owen’s cheek.
“Hi.”
His tiny mouth moved against her skin.
Nathan leaned over them.
“He’s perfect.”
Leah looked at her husband.
“Promise me something.”
“Anything.”
“Don’t let anyone take him away from me.”
Nathan’s expression changed for the smallest fraction of a second.
Then he kissed her forehead.
“Never.”
Three hours later, Leah woke to find Doreen standing over Owen’s bassinet.
Her mother-in-law had one hand wrapped around the handle.
Leah sat upright despite the pain.
“What are you doing?”
Doreen turned.
“Taking him to the nursery.”
“No.”
“You need sleep.”
“I said no.”
Doreen’s eyes narrowed.
“You’re being unreasonable.”
Leah pressed the call button.
Doreen stepped closer.
“You cannot spend every second hovering over him.”
“He’s three hours old.”
“And already you’re behaving obsessively.”
Leah’s blood went cold.
The door opened.
Mae entered.
She looked at Doreen.
Then at Doreen’s hand on the bassinet.
“Mrs. Carver, please step away from the baby.”
Doreen straightened.
“I am his grandmother.”
“And Leah is his mother.”
Mae walked between them.
“Visiting hours ended forty minutes ago.”
Doreen’s face hardened.
“I know the hospital administrator.”
Mae didn’t blink.
“Then he can explain the visiting policy tomorrow.”
Doreen released the bassinet.
Before leaving, she looked directly at Leah.
There was no affection in her face.
Only calculation.
The next morning, Dr. Rusk arrived with another physician.
Dr. Malcolm Price.
He introduced himself as a psychiatrist.
Leah stared at him.
“Why do I need a psychiatrist?”
Dr. Rusk gave her a careful smile.
“It’s routine when we see signs of severe postpartum anxiety.”
Leah felt her heart begin pounding.
“What signs?”
Dr. Rusk opened the chart.
“Paranoia.”
“Paranoia?”
“Fixation on the possibility that someone will remove your child.”
Leah looked toward Nathan.
He stood near the window.
Silent.
Dr. Rusk continued.
“Sleep disturbance.”
“I gave birth last night.”
“Hostility toward family support.”
“My mother-in-law tried taking my baby from the room.”
“Doreen said she offered to take him to the nursery so you could rest.”
Leah stared at Nathan.
“Tell them.”
Nathan swallowed.
“Nathan.”
He finally looked at her.
“Maybe talking to someone wouldn’t hurt.”
That was the moment Leah understood.
May you like
They weren’t documenting her breakdown.
They were building one.
