Jerome flinched and started to rise on instinct.
Flora's hand shot out and gripped his, tight with nerves.
Another nurse picked up the thread.
"Right? I heard her belly was crushed flat under the tires."
The breath went out of Jerome in plain relief, and he patted the back of Flora's hand.
He smiled.
"You barely brushed against Nancy. It can't be her."
A flicker of panic crossed Flora's eyes.
The nurse went on. "There was a baby inside her too. Two lives, gone just like that."
Jerome relaxed enough to sit back down.
"Same surname, that's all. Nancy and I never slept together. There's no way she could be pregnant."
"And here I was, worried about her."
Flora settled against his chest, the smugness in her eyes impossible to hide.
Baby burst out crying, tears falling fast.
"Stupid Daddy, Mommy really was carrying me."
"Why don't you know? I'm never talking to you again."
The door eased open and a nurse crept in, bowing to Jerome.
"Lawyer Henson, the hospital only had two bags of rare Rh-negative plasma, and you bought both of them."
"The Fox woman is hemorrhaging now. She needs plasma to survive. Could you release one bag?"
Baby flung himself forward, tiny hands clawing at the hem of Jerome's clothes.
"Daddy, hurry, save Mommy."
But he was only a weightless spirit. Jerome couldn't see him at all.
Jerome's face stayed cold.
"Flora has a clotting disorder. She needs a guaranteed supply. There's nothing to spare."
The nurse went pale, said nothing more, and hurried out with her head down.
The room fell quiet, leaving only the sound of blood dripping through the transfusion line.
Drip. Drip.
Before long, nurses passed by outside, talking low.
"That Fox woman is just too pitiful. Bled out alive, and that was it."
"One bag of plasma and she'd have lived."
"Hush. The plasma's in the Henson heir's hands. You tired of living?"
Jerome's thumb and forefinger rubbed slowly together, twice, without his meaning to.
I hovered there at the edge of it all, watching, when Baby turned and looked up at me, choking on sobs.
"Mommy, why won't Daddy save you?"
I looked at his little eyes, swollen red from crying, and the ache nearly tore me apart.
All I could do was steel myself and soothe him.
"Daddy doesn't know it's Mommy. If he knew it was me he was saving, he'd save me for sure."
He should.
He would.
"But I saw it clearly."
Baby's mouth crumpled.
"The lady only scraped a little skin. She wasn't even bleeding. So why did Daddy keep all the plasma for her?"
The breath caught in my throat.
I opened my mouth and couldn't get out a single word.
Flora's eyes shifted, and she spoke in a small, timid voice.
"Jerome, the drunk driving won't come back on me, will it?"
"If they trace it to me, the government job I worked so hard to land is ruined."
Jerome smiled, sure of himself.
"Don't worry. I'm a top lawyer. I know how an accident scene gets cleaned up."
"And I already checked. We got lucky. There are no cameras anywhere near there. No one will ever know the truth."
I laughed coldly.
Lucky, nothing. Flora had scouted that backstreet long ago and picked it on purpose for how empty it was.
Flora wrinkled her nose.
"What if my sister won't admit fault and makes a scene about it?"
Jerome looked like it was the most obvious thing in the world.
"She's already Mrs. Henson. She's only taking the blame for you. She has no reason not to be grateful."
As he spoke, he pulled out his phone and texted me.
"You should be at the police department by now. Confess quickly. I'll make it up to you once you're out."
He was about to lock the screen when the phone suddenly rang.
