Chapter 5 - THE ULTRASOUND|
Adrian sat frozen on the hard plastic waiting room chair, the legal paper heavy in his trembling fingers.
He turned to the third page attached to the back of the divorce petition.
Paperclipped to the bottom of the document was a small, glossy strip of thermal medical paper.
Adrian’s lungs locked.
It was an ultrasound scan.
Dated five days ago.
At the bottom of the image, printed in tiny white block letters, were the words:
PATIENT: ELENA VALE
GESTATIONAL AGE: 11 WEEKS, 2 DAYS
STATUS: VIABLE SINGLETON
Taped beneath the image was a small, handwritten yellow sticky note in Elena’s delicate, precise script:
I was going to tell you on your birthday next week. But some gifts are meant for a home, not a hallway. I will raise our child in Vermont, Adrian. I will tell them their father was once a great man.
A guttural, agonizing scream tore from Adrian’s chest.
He collapsed forward onto his knees, dropping onto the cold, dirty linoleum floor of the hospital waiting room. He clutched the ultrasound to his heart, his entire body heaving violently as he wept uncontrollably.
Eleven weeks.
She was carrying his child. His son or daughter.
And while she was driving downtown to sign away her entire life to protect him, he had ignored her calls to comfort a mistress who had mixed champagne with pills.
"Elena..." he sobbed into the quiet hallway, pressing his face against his knees. "My god, Elena... I'm sorry... I'm so sorry..."
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The red light above Trauma OR 4 suddenly went out with a sharp, mechanical click.
The double doors swung open, and Dr. Aris stepped out, pulling off his blood-stained surgical mask.
