CHAPTER 1 — Under the Bed
CHAPTER 1 — Under the Bed
The hospital room changed the moment the door shut.
Not visually at first—nothing obvious, nothing dramatic. Just the soft click of the latch and the steady hum of machines that suddenly felt too loud.
From beneath the bed, I could only see fragments.
White shoes.
A doctor’s polished black loafers.
And Linda’s heels—slow, deliberate, like she owned the room instead of visiting it.
“Vitals are stable,” the doctor said calmly.
“Good,” Linda replied. “We don’t need complications.”
My fingers curled against the cold tile. My body screamed from the childbirth, but fear was louder.
Emily was still standing near the bed. I could see her small feet inches from my face. She hadn’t moved. She was still.
Too still for a child.
“Where is she?” the doctor asked.
A pause.
Then Linda answered with quiet certainty.
“She signed the consent. Post-birth procedure. The baby stays. The mother is… no longer required.”
My heart stopped for a fraction of a second.
No longer required.
That wasn’t medical language. That was disposal language.
I bit my hand to stop myself from making a sound.
Emily’s foot shifted slightly—just enough to signal she was listening too.
The doctor hesitated. “And the newborn?”
Linda’s voice softened, almost affectionate.
“The baby stays in the family.”
A chair rolled closer.
I saw Emily’s hand lower—slowly—until her fingers touched the edge of the curtain hanging under the bed.
May you like
She was warning me.
Something was about to happen.
