“At the estate. The hospital. Anywhere.”
“What does 314 open?”
“I don’t know.”
Elena looked at the tag.
“That resembles the old storage keys used in the basement.”
Diana closed her hand around it.
“I’m going down.”
“Take someone you trust,” Audrey said.
Diana looked through the dim corridor.
Most of the hospital staff were moving patients or checking emergency equipment. Security officers were nowhere in sight.
“I trust you,” Diana said.
Audrey almost laughed, but another contraction stole the breath from her.
Diana touched her arm.
“I’ll come back.”
Audrey met her eyes.
“You don’t know that.”
“No.”
Diana glanced at the key.
“But I know I’m done letting someone else decide what I’m afraid to discover.”
Then she left.
Elena and another nurse transferred Audrey onto a mobile bed with a battery-powered monitor.
The corridor outside had changed completely.
Emergency lights washed the walls in red.
Patients stood in doorways.
Nurses carried flashlights and portable equipment.
Some people whispered prayers. Others called family members, though many phones showed no signal.
Audrey’s bed rolled slowly toward the neonatal wing.
“Breathe with me,” Elena said as another contraction began.
