"Give me MY baby," she said, voice breaking. "I'm the one who should hold him, not you."
"We're going to clean him up now, ma'am, then we'll give him to you," the nurse said, retrieving the baby.
Carol watched the nurse take him like an animal tracking movement.
"Carol?"
"I'm going to call Mom," she said, not even looking at me.
She abruptly stepped into the hallway. The second the door shut, Paul leaned close to me.
"Please," he whispered. "Don't give her the baby yet."
I stared at him, my heart pounding. "What? Why?"
"I need to show you something." Paul swallowed hard and pulled out his phone.
I frowned as I stared at the screen.
It was a message thread between Paul and Rob. I started reading, and my skin crawled.
"Do you understand?" Paul said, his voice cracking. "I was right when I said something was wrong, I just… God, I never thought it was this bad."
I read the messages again.
Carol is scaring me.
She keeps saying the baby is the only thing keeping her alive. She thinks Anna will try to keep him. She's talking about moving right after the birth, so that nobody can interfere.
"When did Rob send these?" I asked.
"Last night." He pointed at the screen. "He wanted to meet with you and me to discuss everything, but then you went into labor…"
"And now it's too late," I finished for him. I shook my head. "This isn't Carol. She knows I wouldn't try to keep the baby."
"She's clearly not thinking straight, Anna. She's been spiraling for months."
"But—"
Before I could finish, the door opened.
Carol came back in smiling through tears. Rob followed behind her.
"Mom's on her way—" she broke off, and her eyes narrowed as she took in my tears and Paul's expression. "What's going on in here?"
Paul cleared his throat. "Carol, we need to talk. About the baby."
Her eyes went wild.
"You don't get to talk to me about MY baby," she said in a trembling voice. "As soon as they bring him back here, I'm going to hold him. You'll go to your room, and that's it."
Rob put a hand on her shoulder. "Carol, please listen."
"No!" Her eyes snapped to Rob. "What did you tell them?"
Rob looked shattered. "Carol—"
Paul stepped between them. "Carol, listen. We want to help you."
"I don't need your help. Not anymore."
I said, "We're worried about you."
"Please, honey," Rob said, reaching for her. "You're not well."
She recoiled from him like he had struck her.
I looked at my sister: the shaking hands, the wild eyes. The way her chest was rising too fast. The panic pouring off her like heat.
And all at once, something awful became clear.
To save my sister, I would have to make her worst fear come true.
I started sobbing.
"Carol, I love you," I whispered. "And I'm so sorry to do this to you, but I can't hand over the baby until you get help."
Her nostrils flared. The sound that came out of her barely sounded human.
"No."
"Carol—"
"NO! You promised to carry my son for me. He's MINE! Mine! You can't keep him."
Two nurses rushed in. Rob put both hands over his mouth. Paul stood beside my bed like a wall.
