Part 3 – The Storm, the Pain, and the Call That Changed Everything
Outside, the sky over Jackson, Mississippi was breaking apart.
Rain hammered down in violent sheets as I gripped the steering wheel with shaking hands.
I was alone.
And I was in labor.
Too early.
Too fast.
Too dangerous.
A sharp pain ripped through my body.
I gasped.
“Aiden… Savannah…” I whispered through clenched teeth. “Please… not yet…”
Another wave hit me harder.
My vision blurred for a second.
The car swerved slightly on the wet road before I caught it again.
My phone kept ringing.
Michael.
Michael.
Michael.
I didn’t answer.
I couldn’t.
Then a different call came through.
Unknown number.
I answered with trembling hands.
A calm but urgent voice spoke.
“Mrs. Whitman, this is Jackson Memorial Hospital. You need to come in immediately. There are complications with your pregnancy.”
My breath caught.
The road in front of me seemed to disappear into rain and headlights.
“I’m… I’m on my way,” I managed to whisper.
But another contraction hit—stronger this time.
Wrong.
Something inside me felt like it was shifting out of place.
A sudden, terrifying wave of pain stole my breath completely.
And in that moment, I understood:
This wasn’t just early labor anymore.
Something was going very wrong.
Far away, in a glass office filled with silence, Michael Whitman was still staring at my name on a piece of paper—
May you like
Completely unaware that the next call he would receive…
would destroy whatever was left of his life.
