Love Lost, Justice Served

The pregnancy test still felt warm in my palm when my phone buzzed against the bathroom counter. Jaxon's name flashed across the screen, and for one desperate moment, my heart leaped. Maybe he'd realized his mistake. Maybe he wanted to talk.

"Samira." His voice was clipped, businesslike. "I need you at the hospital. Now."

"Hospital?" I pressed my free hand against my still-flat stomach, panic rising. "Jaxon, what's wrong? Are you hurt?"

"It's Kenna." The name hit me like a physical blow. "She fell down the stairs at the mansion. She's bleeding badly, and the baby—" His voice cracked. "She needs a blood transfusion immediately."

I closed my eyes, the pregnancy test clattering to the tile floor. "I'm sorry to hear that, but I don't understand why you're calling me."

"You have O-negative blood. Universal donor." His words came out in a rush. "The hospital is running low, and she specifically asked for you. Please, Samira. Whatever's between us, she doesn't deserve to die because of it."

The irony was so sharp it cut. Here I was, carrying his child, and he was asking me to save another woman's pregnancy. "Jaxon, I can't—"

"Can't or won't?" His voice turned cold. "I know you hate her, but this is about basic human decency."

Hate her? I wanted to laugh, but it would have come out as a sob. I didn't hate Kenna Harvey. I pitied her for having to destroy another woman's life to get what she wanted. But I couldn't tell him about the baby—not like this, not over the phone while he was begging me to save his mistress.

"I'll be there," I whispered, and hung up before he could hear me break.

The drive to Mount Sinai felt like a funeral procession. Every red light was a reprieve I didn't want, every green light a step closer to a decision I wasn't ready to make. My hands trembled on the steering wheel as I thought about the tiny life growing inside me—Jaxon's child, conceived in love but born into betrayal.

The emergency room was chaos. Paramedics rushed past with gurneys, families clustered in corners with tear-stained faces, and the sharp smell of antiseptic couldn't quite mask the underlying scent of fear and desperation.

I found Jaxon pacing outside a trauma room, his usually perfect appearance disheveled. His shirt was wrinkled, his tie loosened, and there were what looked like bloodstains on his sleeves. When he saw me, relief flooded his features.

"Thank God you came." He reached for my hands, and I let him take them, memorizing the warmth of his touch. "She's stable for now, but she's lost a lot of blood. The baby's heartbeat is weak."

"What happened?" I asked, though part of me already suspected.

"She was coming down the main staircase at the mansion. She said she felt dizzy, lost her footing." His jaw clenched. "Those marble stairs... if she hadn't grabbed the railing, it could have been so much worse."

A doctor emerged from the trauma room, her scrubs splattered with blood. "Mr. Walker? I'm Dr. Sarah Chen. We need to move quickly. Ms. Harvey has lost significant blood, and the fetal heartbeat is becoming increasingly erratic."

"This is Samira," Jaxon said, pulling me forward. "She's O-negative. She can donate."

Dr. Chen looked at me with kind but tired eyes. "Mrs. Walker, I need to ask—are you currently taking any medications? Any recent illnesses? Are you pregnant?"

The question hung in the air like a loaded gun. I felt Jaxon's eyes on me, felt the weight of the secret I carried. "I..."

"She's fine," Jaxon interrupted. "She's healthy. Please, doctor, every second counts."

Dr. Chen nodded, but I caught something in her expression—a flicker of concern that made my stomach clench. "Of course. Let's get you prepped for donation."

As they led me toward the donation area, I caught a glimpse through the trauma room window. Kenna lay on the gurney, her face pale but her eyes alert. For just a moment, our gazes met through the glass.

And I could have sworn I saw her smile.

"Mrs. Walker?" A nurse appeared at my elbow. "We're ready for you."

I followed her into the sterile room, the pregnancy test's revelation burning in my chest like a secret fire. As they prepared the needle, I thought about the child growing inside me—Jaxon's child—and wondered if I was about to make the biggest mistake of my life.

"This won't take long," the nurse assured me, swabbing my arm with alcohol.

But as the needle slid into my vein and my blood began flowing into the collection bag, I had the terrible feeling that it would take everything.