PART 3
Judith folded her arms.
“Your father?”
“Yes.”
She gave a dismissive little smile.
“And what exactly is he going to do?”
I didn’t answer her.
Caleb did.
“He’ll probably send her mother some flowers and tell her to calm down.”
I kept staring at him.
“You really don’t know who my father is, do you?”
His smile faded slightly.
“No.”
“You never asked.”
“You told me he worked in law.”
“I said he was a judge.”
“Exactly.”
Caleb stood.
“And?”
I swallowed through the pain.
“He is the Chief Justice of the State Supreme Court.”
The kitchen became completely silent.
Ronan’s expression changed.
Caleb simply stared at me.
Then he laughed again.
Except this time, there was something different behind it.
Disbelief.
“No.”
“Yes.”
“You expect me to believe that?”
“I don’t care what you believe.”
Caleb shook his head.
“Mara, we’ve been married four years. You never once told me your father was the Chief Justice.”
“I never told you because I didn’t want to.”
“That’s impossible.”
“Why?”
“Because I would have known.”
“You work in private practice.”
“I know everyone in the courthouse.”
“You know people who work there.”
His face tightened.
“Don’t play games with me.”
“I’m not.”
Judith stepped forward.
“This is ridiculous.”
She pointed at me.
“She is trying to scare us.”
I looked at her.
“You pushed me.”
“I did not.”
“You put both hands on me.”
“I tried to stop you from falling.”
“Then why did I hit the counter?”
“I don’t know.”
“Because you pushed me.”
Judith’s face reddened.
Caleb turned toward her.
“Mom, stop.”
She looked offended.
“What?”
“Just stop talking.”
That was the first time I had ever heard Caleb say those words to her.
For a moment, I thought perhaps something inside him had finally changed.
Then he looked back at me.
“Where is your father?”
I almost smiled.
“You don’t know?”
“Mara.”
“You’ve met him.”
His eyebrows pulled together.
“When?”
“At our wedding.”
Caleb froze.
I watched the memory appear on his face.
The older man standing beside me.
The gray suit.
The quiet voice.
The man Caleb had politely called “Mr. Ellison.”
My father.
Chief Justice Daniel Ellison.
Caleb had never bothered to remember his name.
He had been too busy impressing the other guests.
“You’re lying,” he whispered.
“No.”
Ronan slowly reached for his own phone.
Caleb immediately looked at him.
“Don’t.”
Ronan stopped.
“Caleb, she’s bleeding.”
“I know.”
“Then call an ambulance.”
Caleb looked toward me.
Then toward the broken phone.
Then at the blood.
His confidence was beginning to crack.
I could see it.
But he still wasn’t calling.
So I did something else.
I started screaming.
“HELP!”
Everyone jumped.
“CALL 911!”
“CALL 911!”
Ronan pulled his phone from his pocket.
Caleb stepped toward him.
“Ronan, don’t.”
Ronan looked at Caleb.
Then at me.
Then at the blood.
He dialed.
“911? We have a pregnant woman, approximately seven months along. She’s bleeding after a fall.”
Caleb’s face went white.
Judith whispered, “Ronan.”
He ignored her.
I closed my eyes.
The pain was getting worse.
A terrible pressure had begun building in my lower abdomen.
I placed one hand over my stomach.
“Please,” I whispered.
I didn’t know whether I was speaking to God, my baby, or myself.
“Please be okay.”
Then I felt movement.
One tiny kick.
I started crying.
“She’s moving.”
Ronan crouched beside me.
“That’s good.”
“I felt her.”
“Keep breathing.”
Caleb was standing several feet away.
For once, he had nothing to say.
Within minutes, sirens filled the street.
The front door opened.
Two paramedics rushed inside.
“Where is the patient?”
“Kitchen,” Ronan said.
They knelt beside me.
“How far along?”
“Twenty-eight weeks.”
“What happened?”
I looked directly at Caleb.
“My mother-in-law pushed me into the counter.”
Judith immediately interrupted.
“That is not what happened.”
The paramedic held up a hand.
“Ma’am, I’ll speak with the patient first.”
Caleb stepped forward.
“She slipped.”
I looked at him.
“No.”
The paramedic looked between us.
“Was there a physical altercation?”
“Yes.”
Caleb’s voice sharpened.
“No.”
I said it again.
“Yes.”
Judith snapped, “She is hysterical.”
The paramedic looked at me.
“Ma’am, do you feel safe with these people?”
I didn’t hesitate.
“No.”
The paramedic nodded.
“Okay. We’re taking you in.”
Caleb stepped forward.
“I’m her husband.”
“I understand.”
“I need to come with her.”
The paramedic looked at me.
“Do you want him to come?”
I shook my head.
“No.”
Caleb’s expression changed.
“Mara.”
“No.”
“You’re not thinking clearly.”
“I am thinking more clearly than I have in four years.”
The paramedic motioned to his partner.
“Let’s move.”
As they lifted me onto the stretcher, I saw something on the floor.
