Chapter 4
Laura refused to deactivate the epidural completely.
She adjusted nothing without authorization from anesthesia, despite Preston’s order.
That quiet refusal mattered.
So did the room’s recording system.
Private delivery rooms at the hospital automatically preserved audio during emergencies for quality review.
Preston knew that policy.
In his anger, he forgot.
Elena did not.
Even through pain, her physician’s mind remained active.
She watched the monitor.
Tracked the contractions.
Noticed the baby’s heart rate recovering more slowly each time.
“Preston,” she said, forcing every word through clenched teeth. “This is obstructed. Call surgery.”
He did not examine her properly.
He looked at Khloe.
Khloe whispered, “She always gets what she wants by frightening people.”
Laura turned toward them.
“This is not a personal disagreement.”
Preston pointed toward Elena.
“She is anxious and exaggerating.”
Elena almost laughed.
An emergency physician being called hysterical while reading her own deteriorating vital signs.
Then the pressure in her abdomen changed.
Not simply pain.
Wrongness.
She tightened her grip on the rail.
“Get the attending obstetrician.”
Laura hit the internal call button.
Preston reached toward it.
“Cancel that.”
Laura moved between him and the controls.
“No.”
That was the first person in the room to say it.
One clear word.
May you like
Preston stared at her.
Then the blood-pressure alarm sounded.
