Chapter 10 - The Premature Arrival
The hospital staff rushed me through the emergency doors, instantly surrounding me in a flurry of activity.
Harrison flashed a stack of legal documents to the hospital administrator, demanding absolute privacy.
He registered me under a false name, ensuring Julian’s spies could not locate the maternity ward.
The doctors worked frantically to slow down the labor, but my body had already made its decision.
For six agonizing hours, I fought through the intense, relentless waves of contractions.
Every time I wanted to give up, I thought about Julian's smug face telling me to leave his house.
I thought about his horrific demand to give my baby away to strangers for a paycheck.
That righteous anger fueled my exhausted body, pushing me past the limits of human endurance.
Just as the sun began to rise over the Los Angeles skyline, a tiny, piercing cry filled the delivery room.
The doctor held up a small, fragile, but incredibly loud baby girl.
"She is early, but her lungs sound incredibly strong," the doctor smiled, wrapping her in a warm blanket.
They placed her gently on my chest, and the entire world outside that room completely vanished.
She had a head full of dark hair and beautiful, fiercely alert eyes.
I wept openly, tears of pure joy and profound relief streaming down my exhausted face.
"Welcome to the world, Maya," I whispered, kissing her tiny forehead.
Harrison stood in the doorway, a rare, genuine smile breaking across his usually stern features.
But the moment of peace was fleeting, interrupted by a sharp knock on the hospital room door.
A hospital administrator walked in, looking incredibly nervous.
"I am so sorry to intrude, but a court server is waiting in the lobby," the administrator said.
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Julian had somehow found us, and he was demanding an immediate, court-ordered DNA sample from the baby.
He was trying to execute his trap before I even had time to recover.
