Chapter 10

<p>"Emily, are you sure you won't regret this?" Linda asked.</p><p>"No regrets," Emily replied.</p><p>"So, how do you feel right now?"</p><p>Emily lay on the hospital bed, the ceiling lights glaring down at her. "Relieved."</p><p>The operation took a little over an hour.</p><p>When Emily woke up, Linda was sitting by her bedside.</p><p>"How is it going?" Emily asked.</p><p>"The doctor said everything went smoothly," Linda replied.</p><p>Emily nodded. Her lower abdomen felt a bit bloated, her body was drained, but her mind was surprisingly clear.</p><p>"What time is it?" Emily asked.</p><p>"It's ten in the morning," Linda replied.</p><p>"Did Frank notice I was gone?"</p><p>"He did. You've got twenty-three missed calls on your phone. He's been acting like a madman, looking all over for you."</p><p>Emily didn't even bother to check her phone. "Did you let Mr. Parker know?"</p><p>Linda replied, "Yeah, I did. John Parker's going to the court at three this afternoon to file everything.</p><p>"The forensic report on the condom, the transaction history of your joint account with Frank, the transfer records from Frank to Sophia and Susan Shine, and the recording from the day Julian came over. Everything's included."</p><p>Emily closed her eyes for a few seconds, then opened them again. "I need to go to the hospital."</p><p>"Are you crazy? You just had surgery," Linda said.</p><p>Emily insisted, "Sophia's getting ready for her bone marrow transplant this afternoon. I need to tell Frank face-to-face that I've lost the baby."</p><p>Linda looked at her face, wanting to talk her out of it, but no words came.</p><p>At two in the afternoon, Emily showed up in the hallway of the hematology department at the city hospital.</p><p>She was wearing a loose coat, her face pale, walking slower than usual.</p><p>At the end of the hallway was the operating room. Frank and Sophia were standing outside the operating room.</p><p>Frank was talking quietly to Sophia, who was leaning against the wall, clutching an IV tube in her hand that hadn't been hooked up yet.</p><p>When Emily stopped, Frank was the first to notice her. His expression shifted through three stages in a split second.</p><p>First, relief at seeing her; then confusion as he noticed her pale face; and finally, fear as his eyes landed on the paper she was holding.</p><p>"Emily? Where have you been? Do you have any idea how long I've been looking for you this morning?" Frank asked.</p><p>Emily made her way over, each step slow and deliberate.</p><p>Sophia saw her too. Her hand slid down the wall, and she instinctively stepped back, half a pace.</p><p>"Emily, what's wrong? You look terrible," Frank said, reaching out to steady her.</p><p>Emily stopped right in front of him. She handed him the paper.</p><p>Frank took it and looked it over. He froze.</p><p>It was a hospital discharge summary for an induced labor. The date was today, and the procedure was written out plain as day.</p><p>"Emily." Frank's voice was strained, barely above a whisper. "What did you do?"</p><p>Emily looked straight at him. Then she turned her gaze to Sophia. "Sophia, the umbilical cord blood you wanted? It's gone.</p><p>"The bone marrow too. That child you and Frank saw as nothing but a treatment? He's gone."</p><p>Sophia's back hit the wall. Her mouth opened, but no sound came out.</p><p>Frank's hands started to shake. He gripped the discharge summary so hard that the paper crumpled in his fist.</p><p>He demanded, "You aborted the baby? You aborted my baby?"</p><p>"Your baby?" Emily shot back. "Frank, that was never your baby. That was a tool you created by sabotaging the condoms. You never had the right to call it yours."</p><p>A nurse walked by, slowing down and glancing over at them.</p><p>Frank's face flushed bright red, his lips trembling as he struggled to get the words out. "How… How did you know?"</p><p>"I know everything," Emily said, pulling her phone from her coat pocket and opening a folder. "Your chat logs with Sophia.</p><p>"Every dollar you sent her, the audio of Julian showing up at my place, trying to make me sign that consent form, and the forensic report on those sabotaged condoms.</p><p>"Everything was submitted to the court at three today, Frank."</p><p>Frank stared at her, his jaw working, but he couldn't get a single word out.</p><p>Sophia slid down the wall, collapsing to the floor, her hands pressed over her face.</p><p>Emily shot Frank one final glance. "You always said I was nothing without you. But you got it backwards. Without me, you're the one who's nothing."</p><p>She turned and walked down the hallway. Linda was waiting for her at the corner.</p><p>Emily took three steps, and her legs went weak. Linda hurried over and steadied her by the arm. "Come on, let's get out of here."</p><p>Frank's voice echoed behind them.</p><p>He didn't come after her, but his words carried down the entire hallway. "Emily! Come back! Emily!"</p><p>Emily didn't look back. At the end of the hallway, a glass door waited.</p><p>As she pushed it open, the afternoon sunlight poured onto her face, so bright she had to squint.</p><p>Without hesitation, Emily walked out into the light.</p>