Chapter 8 - Race Against Time
The speedometer on the Aston Martin crossed ninety miles per hour as Ethan navigated the winding country roads leading toward Albany Memorial Hospital.
His phone, resting on the center console, was ringing continuously. The screen displayed Caller ID: VANESSA REED.
Ethan reached over, grabbed the phone, answered it, and threw it out the open window into the rushing wind of the highway.
In the back seat, Nora let out a sharp, agonized cry.
“Ethan... I can’t... it’s too fast,” she gasped, her voice strained to its absolute limit.
Ethan’s heart hammered against his ribs. “Look at me, Nora. Look at my eyes. You are strong. You are the strongest person I have ever known. We are five minutes away. Do you hear me? Five minutes.”
“Stop the car,” she whimpered. “I... I think the baby is coming right now.”
Ethan slammed his foot on the brakes, pulling the car onto the grass shoulder of the highway with a violent lurch of gravel and screeching rubber.
He threw off his seatbelt, leaped out of the driver’s seat, and wrenched open the rear door.
Nora was curled on the leather seat, tears streaming down her pale cheeks, her hands gripping the upholstery. The signs of imminent delivery were undeniable. There was no time to reach the hospital. If he tried to drive the remaining five miles, they would lose her and the child on the highway.
“Nora,” Ethan said, dropping to his knees beside the open door, stripping off his blood-stained shirt to reveal a clean white undershirt underneath. “Look at me. You’re going to have this baby right here. With me.”
“I’m scared, Ethan,” she whispered, her fingers locking around his wrist with surprising strength. “I’m so scared.”
“Don’t be,” Ethan said, his voice breaking as tears finally spilled over his own eyelashes. He leaned down and pressed a fierce, desperate kiss against her forehead. “I failed you as a husband. I let a monster into our lives. But I will not fail you today. Push, Nora. Push for me.”
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The gray sky above the highway began to break, parting just enough for a single shaft of warm spring sunlight to pierce through the clouds and illuminate the interior of the car.
Nora closed her eyes, arched her back, and screamed—a sound of pure, primal creation that drowned out the roaring traffic of the interstate.
