Chapter 2 - Emergency at Northwestern
The black SUV convoy tore through the rain-slicked streets of downtown Chicago at eighty miles per hour, sirens clearing the traffic.
Inside the back seat, Gabriel sat holding Mara, his hand pressed firmly over hers on her lower abdomen, whispering soft, steady promises into her hair.
“You’re safe, Mara. I have you. I’m not leaving.”
Mara looked up at him through heavy eyelids, her hands clutching his shirt collar. “You disappeared, Gabriel... I searched for you everywhere... the hotel, the phone number...”
Gabriel’s chest heaved with a heavy, painful breath. “I know. I had to clean up a war, Mara. People were hunting me seven months ago. If I stayed, they would have used you against me.”
He reached down, gently touching the black onyx ring hanging around her neck.
“I left the ring so my people would protect you if you were ever in trouble,” Gabriel whispered, his eyes filled with immense regret. “I didn’t know you were pregnant. I didn’t know you were working for Hargrove.”
“I needed a job...” Mara whimpered as another contraction rippled through her. “He made me clean the floor...”
Gabriel’s jaw tightened until the muscles flexed white beneath his skin. “He will pay for every tear you shed tonight.”
The SUV slammed to a halt outside the emergency entrance of Northwestern Memorial Hospital.
The automatic doors burst open. A team of six doctors and nurses pushed a gurney out into the rain, led by the hospital’s chief surgeon.
Gabriel lifted Mara out of the vehicle and placed her gently on the gurney.
“Mr. Vance, we’re taking her straight to Trauma Bay 3 for an emergency ultrasound,” the chief surgeon said rapidly, guiding the gurney down the bright corridor.
Gabriel walked right beside the gurney, refusing to let go of Mara’s hand.
“Is the baby going to survive?” Gabriel demanded, his voice laced with absolute authority and raw fear.
“We’re checking now, sir. We need to stabilize her blood pressure first.”
Inside Trauma Bay 3, the medical team worked with frantic precision. Monitors beeped, IV lines were inserted, and the ultrasound machine was powered on.
Gabriel stood right beside Mara’s head, his hand holding hers so tightly his knuckles were white.
The doctor placed the gel probe on Mara’s belly.
For three agonizing seconds, the only sound in the room was the hum of the air conditioner.
Then, a loud, fast, rhythmic sound filled the room.
Thump-thump-thump-thump-thump.
A strong, steady heartbeat echoed from the monitor screen.
Mara let out a loud, sobbing breath, tears streaming down her cheeks. “The baby... the baby’s alive...”
The doctor smiled, looking at the screen. “The baby is fine, Miss Ellis. The bleeding was caused by a minor placental tear due to sudden stress and blunt force trauma to your hip, but the amniotic sac is intact. You need strict bed rest, but your child is safe.”
Gabriel closed his eyes, exhaling a long, trembling breath, leaning his forehead gently against Mara’s hand.
“Thank God,” Gabriel whispered.
He looked up at the doctor, his eyes turning back into cold steel. “Who caused the blunt force trauma?”
Mara looked at him quietly. “Preston pulled me... I fell against the metal cart.”
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Gabriel kissed the back of her hand, his eyes burning with a dark, unyielding fire.
“Get some rest, Mara,” Gabriel said softly. “I have some business to settle.”
