Chapter 3

One of Mark' s crew, a young firefighter named Miller, approached my side of the SUV.

"Ma'am, are you hurt?" he asked, his voice professional but distant.

"My stomach," I gasped, "The baby."

Mark was already helping Jessica out, her arm draped dramatically around his neck.

"She' s just hysterical, Miller," Mark called over, his voice sharp, "Probably just trying to make this about her. Jessica' s the one who' s really hurt."

Jessica moaned, a perfect picture of suffering.

Miller' s face hardened slightly, his eyes flicking over me with dismissal.

He nodded at Mark, then turned back to focus on getting equipment for Jessica.

I was left alone, bleeding, a searing pain ripping through my abdomen.

I unbuckled my seatbelt with trembling hands, pushing open the passenger door.

I half-fell, half-crawled out onto the rough shoulder of the road.

The gravel bit into my palms.

All the activity, all the medical bags, the oxygen, it was all for Jessica.

Mark knelt beside her, stroking her hair, his voice a low murmur of comfort.

He finally looked at me, his eyes cold, full of contempt.

"You got what you deserved for being crazy," he said, his voice low enough so only I could hear.

A fresh wave of agony tore through me, and I felt a sickening gush of warmth between my legs.

I knew, with a certainty that chilled me to the bone, that I was losing my baby.

At the hospital, hours later, after another man had brought me in, the doctor' s words were gentle but final.

"I'm so sorry, Mrs. Thompson. The trauma was too severe. You've lost the baby."

The room tilted.

Mark arrived later, his face a mask of strained concern.

"The doctors told me," he said, his voice carefully neutral, "It was the crash, Sarah. You were probably distracting Jessica, you know how you get."

Jessica, I heard from a sympathetic nurse, had a few bruises and a "possible mild concussion."

She'd posted a selfie from her hospital bed, a single tear rolling down her cheek, a small, artful bandage on her forehead.

The caption read: "So grateful for my rock and lifelong protector, Mark. He saved me. #blessed #hero."