Chapter 5 - The Hospital Dash
He bolted out of the house without even grabbing his coat, leaping into his vehicle and slamming his foot onto the gas pedal. The tires spun wildly against the icy driveway before traction caught, sending the SUV surging down the snow-covered avenue at breakneck speed.
He dialed Emma’s phone number over the vehicle’s Bluetooth system, gripping the steering wheel so tightly his knuckles turned bone-white.
“The subscriber you are trying to reach is currently unavailable or has been turned off,” the automated voice droned endlessly.
He hit the dashboard with his fist, tears streaming down his face. "Pick up! Please, Emma, pick up the phone!"
He slammed on the brakes as he reached Saint Jude Memorial Hospital, abandoning his vehicle right in the emergency drop-off zone. He sprinted through the sliding glass doors, sweeping past astonished security guards and rushing straight to the maternity reception desk.
"Emma Vance!" he gasped out, his chest heaving as he leaned heavily against the counter. "My wife! She was admitted this morning! High-risk pregnancy—preeclampsia!"
The receptionist looked up, her expression turning professional and severe as she checked her computer terminal. "Are you the husband?"
"Yes! I'm her husband!" he pleaded, his voice breaking. "Where is she? Is she okay? Is the baby okay?"
The nurse’s eyes narrowed slightly, her tone turning cold. "Mrs. Vance was admitted to the High-Risk Delivery Suite three hours ago. Her blood pressure spiked dangerously upon arrival. She explicitly listed her sister as her primary medical proxy and requested that you be denied entry to the room."
The words struck him like an iron bar to the chest. "No... no, please! I need to see her! I have to tell her I'm sorry!"
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"Sir, you need to calm down," the receptionist warned, signaling to two hospital security officers standing near the elevator bank. "She is currently in surgery for an emergency Cesarean section. You cannot go up there."
👉 Read Part 6 to see who showed up at the hospital to stop him.
