Chapter 4

The side door finally gave way.

My brother and the paramedics rushed me out of the hotel on the gurney, but three wedding cars still sat across the ambulance lane.

The officer ordered the driver to move them at once.

The driver was drenched in sweat.

"The groom has the keys, and he's still up on the stage."

Susannah came running out and threw herself in front of the cars.

"Nobody touches these!"

"They're rentals. If you damage them, that's hundreds of thousands to replace!"

The paramedics kept adjusting the fetal monitor.

The sound coming from it was getting slower.

My brother didn't argue anymore.

He turned, got into his own SUV, and hit the gas.

There was a crash.

The outermost wedding car was shoved bodily aside.

Susannah's scream tore across the hotel entrance.

"My wedding car!"

The ambulance lane was finally clear.

The paramedics loaded me in fast.

Abraham came running out, clutching a folder.

I thought he was finally going to come with me to the hospital.

Instead he stood outside the door, his face cold.

"Have your brother pay for the car first."

"And sign for the two thousand eight hundred, or I'm not handing over your things."

My father yanked out my ID card and shoved him back from the door.

"Get lost."

The ambulance door shut in his face.

Abraham didn't chase the car.

He turned with the rest of the folder and ran back to the wedding.

Once we were moving, the heartbeat dropped to sixty at one point.

I started bleeding heavily, and my vision blurred.

The paramedic doctor got the hospital on the line.

"Suspected placental abruption. Prep the emergency lane, straight to surgery on arrival."

Mom kept calling Abraham.

He didn't pick up once.

But someone posted a video in the family group chat.

In it, he stood on the stage, taking Susannah's hand and placing it in the groom's.

The officiant said, smiling,

"An older brother is like a father."

The room broke into applause.

The ambulance reached the hospital, and I was wheeled straight into the surgical prep area.

The delivery card was still in Abraham's hands, so my father could only call the bank to report it lost.

When the results came back, his face changed.

The delivery account, which should have held thirty thousand, had forty-six dollars left.

The money had been transferred out all at once to Susannah, after Abraham took my phone and claimed he was checking my transfer records for me.

The note was just two words.

Wedding balance.

I'd been treated as a thief and held at the gift table over two thousand eight hundred.

And Abraham, the moment my water broke, had taken the money for my delivery with his own hands.

The doctor came quickly.

"The heartbeat is still dropping. We need an emergency C-section now."

"After the birth the baby will most likely go into the neonatal ICU. The family needs to be prepared."

Mom finally got through to Abraham and put him on speaker.

"Why did you transfer away the delivery money?"

It was loud on the other end.

The officiant was calling for the bride to throw the bouquet.

Abraham didn't deny it.

"The wedding company suddenly wanted the balance paid. I couldn't have Susannah chased for money in her wedding dress."

"The baby has to go into intensive care!"

He only paused for a second.

"The hospital isn't going to just let a baby die."

"What's wrong with the two of you fronting it for now?"

"A sister only gets married once. Do you really have to fight her over today?"

The hallway went silent.

I told Mom to save the recording and to revoke every bit of authority Abraham had over my personal accounts.

The nurse held out the surgical consent form.

"Who do we put as your first contact?"

I crossed out the name in the spouse field.

"My brother."

Just as the doors to the OR were about to close, Abraham finally showed up, holding the gift ledger.

He tried to follow me in, but a nurse stopped him.

"I'm sorry. The patient hasn't authorized you to enter."

Abraham froze.

"I'm her husband!"

The nurse looked down at the list.

"The first contact is the patient's brother."

"And you're not on the visitor list either."

He stared at me, unable to believe it.

"You really have to take it this far?"

I lay on the bed, soaked through with blood.

The gift ledger in his arms was still spotless.

"You choose your sister every single time."

"Now, I choose too."

The doors to the OR closed completely.

Above me, the doctor's voice came fast and urgent.

"Heartbeat's gone!"

"Operate now!"

The anesthesia mask came down.

I don't know how much time passed before I felt my belly suddenly go empty.

All around me were the sounds of instruments clashing and the staff rushing back and forth.

But I waited a long time, and I never heard the baby cry.