Chapter 3: Three Days of Silence
Emily woke to unfamiliar lights.
Machines beeped softly.
Her throat burned from the breathing tube that had recently been removed.
Everything hurt.
A nurse immediately noticed her eyes opening.
"Emily?"
She blinked weakly.
"My... baby..."
The nurse smiled gently.
"Ethan is safe."
Emily burst into tears before another word could leave her lips.
The doctor arrived moments later.
"You experienced severe postpartum sepsis and multiple blood clots. Your blood pressure collapsed."
Emily struggled to remember.
Ryan.
The nursery.
The crying.
The floor.
"He left..."
The doctor nodded carefully.
"The mail carrier found you."
Emily stared at him.
"The mail carrier?"
"If she hadn't entered your home when she did..."
He didn't finish the sentence.
He didn't have to.
Margaret visited later that afternoon carrying fresh flowers.
Emily reached for her trembling hand.
"You saved my son."
Margaret smiled through tears.
"No."
She squeezed Emily's fingers.
"You saved him."
Emily looked confused.
"You crawled almost twelve feet after collapsing."
"What?"
"The rug had blood on it."
"You tried reaching his crib."
Emily remembered nothing.
Only darkness.
But somehow...
Her body had kept trying.
Meanwhile...
Ryan's birthday weekend finally ended.
He never noticed the missed calls.
Never checked voicemail.
Never wondered why Emily had stopped texting.
He simply assumed she was angry.
On the drive home, he even laughed with his friends.
"She'll cool off."
One friend chuckled.
"Women get emotional after babies."
Ryan nodded.
May you like
"Exactly."
He had no idea every word would soon haunt him.
