Chapter 3

The room tilted.

Four people stood around me. David. Mom. Dad. Mrs. Henderson. All staring at me with those same cold eyes.

My legs gave out.

I hit the floor. Then nothing.

I woke up to white.

My head was killing me. I tried to sit up, but a hand gently pressed my shoulder back down.

"Easy." A nurse smiled at me. "You're at Cedar-Sinai. You fainted."

The hospital.

I grabbed the bed rail, trying to get up.

"My baby—"

"Your baby is fine." The nurse checked something on a monitor. "You just had a shock. Your vitals are normal, and the fetus is healthy."

I fell back against the pillow. Thank God.

"Where's my family?"

The nurse's smile faded. "They're talking to Dr. Morrison."

"About what?"

She hesitated. Her eyes flickered to the door, then back to me.

"They want us to schedule a termination procedure." Her voice dropped. "But Dr. Morrison refused. Your baby is perfectly healthy. There's no medical reason to terminate."

My whole body went cold.

They're still trying.

"What time is it?" I asked.

"Seven o'clock. You've been out for a few hours."

I have to get out of here.

"Can I...use the bathroom?"

"Of course." The nurse helped me sit up. "Just be careful. You might still feel a bit dizzy."

I waited until she left.

I cracked the door open and peeked out. The hallway was quiet. A few nurses sat at their station, staring at computer screens. None of them looked up.

I slipped out and turned left, away from the nurse's station. My bare feet made no sound on the floor. I kept close to the wall, moving fast but not running. Running would draw attention.

A camera hung from the ceiling ahead. I ducked my head and kept walking.

Don't run. Walking is normal. You're just taking a walk. Just a pregnant woman taking a walk.

I turned another corner. Saw a red EXIT sign. Pushed through the door into a stairwell.

The concrete stairs were freezing against my feet. I went down two flights and pushed through another door. Outside. Finally.

I was outside.

The parking lot stretched in front of me.

I ran.

I made it to the sidewalk and stopped, gasping.

Now what?

No phone. No money. No car keys. Nothing.

I need my passport. My cash. My phone.

I thought of my bedroom. I have to go home.

The Uber driver didn't ask questions. Maybe he'd seen worse. Maybe he just wanted the fare.

"I'll pay you when we get there," I'd told him at the hospital entrance. "Cash."

He shrugged and unlocked the doors.

Twenty minutes later, he pulled up in front of my house. All the lights were off.

They're still at the hospital.

I ran inside, grabbed the cash from my nightstand, and paid him double. He drove away without a word.

The house was pitch black. I quickly went back to the bedroom and started packing my things.

My suitcase sat in the closet. I yanked it out and threw it on the bed. My hands shook as I grabbed clothes. Passport. Phone charger. Underwear. Socks. Jeans. Shirts. I threw everything in.

Hurry. They could come back any second.

My phone sat on the nightstand. I grabbed it. Two thousand dollars in cash from the top drawer. Credit cards. Driver's license.

What else? What am I forgetting?

I opened the closet to grab more clothes. My hand brushed against something on the back wall.

I froze.

A soft mechanical hum filled the room. The back wall of the closet started to move.

What the—

I stared at the gap. Behind the wall, there was space. A room.

I'd lived in this house for five years. And I never knew this was here.

What is this?

My hands shook. I should keep packing. I should leave. But my feet moved forward on their own.

I stepped through the gap.

The room was pitch black. I felt along the wall, my fingers searching. There. A switch.

I flipped it.

Light flooded the space.

And I saw it.

I couldn't breathe. My hands started shaking so hard I had to press them against the wall to keep steady.

No.

Oh my God.

I understood now.

I understood why David had grabbed my wrist the second he saw those test results.

Why my parents had turned against me the moment they read that paper.

Why Mrs. Henderson had said those words.

I understood why they all wanted me to terminate this pregnancy.