Chapter 8 - The Hospital Siege

The emergency bay doors blew open at St. Jude’s Memorial Hospital.

"Twenty-eight-year-old female, thirty-eight weeks gestation, severe preeclampsia symptoms induced by acute trauma, heart rate tachycardic, fetal decelerations down to 80!" the paramedic shouted as we ran down the bright, sterile hallway.

A team of six nurses and two OB-GYN surgeons swarmed the gurney.

"Sir, you have to wait outside this line!" a nurse in blue scrubs ordered, pushing me gently but firmly back at the double doors of the labor and delivery operating suite.

"That's my wife! That's my baby!" I yelled, my hands covered in Anna’s cold sweat.

"We are prepping for an emergency C-section, Mr. Vance," the surgeon said, turning to me with severe eyes. "If we don't get this baby out in ten minutes, you could lose them both. Let us do our jobs."

The double doors swung shut. The red "IN USE" light flashed on above the lintel.

I collapsed onto the vinyl waiting room chairs, burying my face in my hands. The fluorescent lights buzzed overhead like angry hornets. The smell of antiseptic was suffocating.

My phone vibrated in my pocket.

It was a call from a local precinct number.

I answered immediately. "Hello?"

"Mr. Vance? This is Detective Miller from the 4th Precinct. We have Evelyn Vance in custody. She is refusing to answer questions without an attorney, but she keeps demanding that we release her to come to the hospital to 'oversee the birth of her grandchild.'"

"Keep her in that cell," I said, my voice shaking with cold fury. "Do not let her within five miles of this hospital. I am filing a temporary restraining order the second the court opens in the morning."

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"We reviewed the footage from your kitchen camera, Mr. Vance," Detective Miller said quietly. "The video shows clear evidence of second-degree assault, reckless endangerment, and attempted coercion. Combined with the pennyroyal extract we confiscated from her bedroom, the District Attorney is already drafting felony charges."

Before I could reply, the operating room doors clicked open.