CHAPTER 2: THE NURSE'S SECRET
Emma felt her entire world collapsing.
"No," she whispered.
"No, no, no."
Tears streamed down her face as she held the infant tighter.
The little girl had only been in her arms for a few hours.
Yet Emma already loved her more than life itself.
The nurse finally spoke.
Her voice trembled.
"I'm so sorry."
Emma looked up.
The woman was crying.
"My name is Sarah."
"You knew?" Emma demanded.
Sarah nodded.
"Not at first."
"Then when?"
Sarah wiped her eyes.
"Three hours ago."
The room froze.
Three hours.
Sarah had known for three hours.
"You let me hold her."
"You let me bond with her."
"I know."
Emma's voice cracked.
"How could you?"
Sarah broke down.
"Because I couldn't bring myself to separate you."
Daniel looked shocked.
"What?"
Sarah turned toward them.
"The other mother..."
Her voice weakened.
"She died during delivery."
Nobody moved.
Nobody breathed.
Emma stared at her.
"What did you say?"
"The other woman suffered a catastrophic hemorrhage."
Michael's face turned pale.
"And the father?" Daniel asked.
Sarah lowered her head.
"There isn't one."
The silence became unbearable.
The newborn stirred again.
Tiny cries filled the room.
Sarah continued.
"That little girl has nobody."
Emma looked down at the baby.
Nobody.
No mother.
No father.
No family.
The infant opened her eyes.
For the first time, Emma noticed how frightened she looked.
How vulnerable.
How completely innocent.
Daniel sat heavily in a chair.
"What happens now?"
Sarah glanced at the paperwork.
"The hospital board wants immediate DNA testing."
"And if she's not ours?"
"Then she enters state custody."
Emma felt sick.
State custody.
An orphan before she was even one day old.
Michael suddenly stepped forward.
"That's insane."
Daniel looked at him.
"The law is the law."
Michael shook his head.
"No."
He stared directly at Emma.
"Family is more than blood."
Emma looked down at the child sleeping against her chest.
In that moment, she realized something.
Whether this baby shared her DNA no longer mattered.
May you like
She had already become her mother.
And nothing would change that.
