Chapter 3
The emergency room doors opened again.
The doctor stepped out, pulling off his mask, his face grim.
I steadied myself against the wall, my legs feeling like jelly, but I made myself stay upright.
"Doctor, my son..." I started, my voice trembling.
The doctor shook his head.
"I'm sorry. We did everything we could. The child was underwater for too long. He was already gone when he got here..."
I couldn't hear anything after that.
The world turned into a huge, silent void. I watched the doctor's lips move, and then saw the nurse wheel out a gurney, a tiny body hidden beneath a white sheet.
I walked over and pulled back the sheet.
It was Lorenzo.
He lay there so still, like he was just asleep.
I touched his face. It was still soft, but so cold.
"Lorenzo..." I whispered. "Mommy's here. You don't have to be scared anymore..."
Madeleine's crying stopped all of a sudden. She scrambled up, stumbled over, took one look, and let out a wail before passing out.
The whole scene was a mess.
Douglas and Lucien caught Madeleine as she fell, and the nurse rushed over to help.
Sophia stood off to the side, hand over her mouth, eyes red, looking terrified and shaken.
I sat there holding Lorenzo, feeling like an outsider.
The doctor came out and said to Douglas, "My condolences. As for the paperwork..."
"I'll take care of it," I said.
I stood up, my legs numb and wobbly, but I managed to steady myself.
Lucien looked at me, his gaze hard to read. "Michelle, you..."
"I'll take care of Lorenzo's funeral," I said.
I repeated myself, my voice eerily calm.
"He's my son."
Douglas frowned, as if he wanted to say something, but when he looked at the child in my arms, he fell silent.
Madeleine was revived by someone, and as soon as she came to, she started crying again.
Sophia crouched beside her, gently patting her back and whispering words of comfort.
Just then, Sophia looked up at Lucien, hesitated, as if she wanted to say something but stopped herself.
"Lucien, I... I have something to tell you, but I'm not sure if now's the right time..." she said.
She bit her lip, tears welling up in her eyes.
Lucien was feeling frustrated. "What is it?"
Sophia pulled a piece of paper out of her bag and handed it to him.
Lucien took it, glanced at it, and froze.
"This... this is..."
Sophia said quietly, "I'm pregnant."
Her voice was soft, but in the quiet hallway, everyone heard her loud and clear.
"It's been two months. I was going to wait until things settled down before telling you, but... but now..."
She looked at Lorenzo in my arms, and tears started to fall.
"Now that he's gone, I... I don't want to hide it from you anymore."
Time seemed to freeze.
Madeleine's sobs fell silent. Douglas turned away, while Lucien stared at the prenatal report in his hands, his fingers shaking uncontrollably.
Then, Madeleine suddenly scrambled up from the floor and grabbed Sophia's hand.
"You're pregnant? Are you really pregnant?" Madeleine's voice was shaky with shock.
Sophia nodded timidly.
"Is it a boy or a girl? Did they check the gender yet?" Madeleine's eyes gleamed with anticipation.
"Mrs. Carter, it's still too early to tell..." Sophia replied softly.
"It's definitely a boy!" Madeleine insisted, her tone firm.
"My grandson has finally come back to us! God has finally taken pity on the Carter family!"
She grabbed Sophia's hand, checking her over from head to toe. In a flash, all the sorrow on her face disappeared, replaced by a look of almost manic excitement.
Douglas walked over, glanced at the prenatal report, and let out a deep sigh of relief.
"Good, good. Looks like fate hasn't given up on us," he said.
He patted Lucien on the shoulder.
"Lucien, don't repeat the mistakes you made before. From now on, you need to act with more responsibility."
Lucien was still stunned. He looked at me, then at Sophia, his mouth opening and closing, but he couldn't get a word out.
I watched it all happen.
I saw Douglas and Madeleine crowding around Sophia, fussing over her like she was the only thing that mattered. Lucien kept staring at the pregnancy report, first shocked, then lost, and finally, I caught a flicker of hidden happiness in his eyes. Sophia snuggled up to Madeleine, that smug little smile she couldn't hide curling at the corner of her lips.
In my arms, Lorenzo's body was cold as ice.
I pulled him closer, whispering, 'Lorenzo, are you cold? Mommy will hold you tighter, so you won't feel cold.'
"Lorenzo, are you cold? Mommy will hold you tighter, so you won't feel cold."
Madeleine heard me and turned to look at me, not even bothering to fake a bit of sympathy anymore.
"Alright, Michelle. What's done is done, the kid's gone, that's just how things turned out for him," she said.
She said it so casually, like she was just commenting on the nice weather.