The last phone call before the two teenagers disappeared without a trace…
THE BELL IN THE ABYSS OF EMOTION
The first pain struck me like a sledgehammer to the bone. I clung to the SUV door handle, cold sweat beading on my forehead.
My husband, Ethan, glanced at his watch with a displeased expression. He didn’t look at my belly, where the baby was beginning its stormy journey into the world. He only looked at the route to Phoenix International Airport on his phone screen.
“Listen, Clara,” Ethan said, his tone casual, as if discussing breakfast cereal. “Your parents are waiting at home. The flight to Sedona departs in three hours. Just go in for a quick check-up, and if the doctor says it’s not time yet, I’ll drive you home and leave right away. You have your mother nearby, right?”
“Ethan, I don’t think I can walk in there,” I gasped, another contraction coming on, more intense than before. “I feel… the baby is descending very low.”
He sighed, a sigh of resignation. “There you go again. You always overreact at the most important times for me. This is my parents’ 40th wedding anniversary trip. I can’t miss it just because you have ‘a little stomach ache.’ Alright, I’ll leave the keys in the car. If I’m already gone after the checkup, you can take an Uber to the hospital or call your mom. You’re a strong woman, right?”
He patted my shoulder, a half-smile playing on his lips, then opened the door and got out, leaving me alone in the car, reeking of new leather and a chilling solitude.
“Don’t give birth in my car, the cleaning costs are exorbitant!” He yelled back, a gleeful laugh accompanying his footsteps as he walked toward his parents’ car waiting on the corner.
I watched the car disappear into the distance. Ethan was traveling with his parents, leaving his pregnant wife, nine months along, alone in the parking lot.
1. The Battle on the Brink of Life and Death
Thirty minutes later, I realized I couldn’t get to the clinic. The pain wasn’t just waves anymore; it was a raging ocean. I crawled to the back seat, using my last ounce of strength to lock the car doors. I knew I was in an extremely dangerous situation: acute labor.
I tremblingly reached for my phone, intending to call an ambulance, but a text message from Ethan appeared on the lock screen: “We’ve checked in. Straight to Sedona! Look at this picture, Mom and Dad look so happy. Hang in there, girl, get to the hospital yourself, don’t disturb their happy day.”
Along with it was a photo of the three of them smiling brightly, holding glasses of wine in the VIP lounge.
A fire flared up in my chest, burning away the last vestiges of affection I had for that man. Physical pain was now overwhelmed by a fierce survival instinct. I didn’t call for emergency services immediately. I called my family lawyer – my father’s best friend.
“Henry… prepare the papers… divorce,” I whispered between gasps for breath. “And a restraining order. Right now.”
For the next two hours, the SUV’s interior became a makeshift delivery room. I delivered my own baby in the silence of the deserted parking lot. When my daughter Luna’s first cry rang out, I felt I was no longer the weak woman waiting for Ethan. I had died and been reborn with my child.
2. Panic from the other end of the line
Three hours after Ethan left.
By then, I had been discovered by the clinic staff and taken to the intensive care unit. Luna was lying peacefully in her incubator. I sat on the hospital bed, looking at the phone vibrating incessantly on the table.
It was Ethan.
I pressed the speakerphone button, but didn’t say a word.
“Clara! Clara! Are you there?” Ethan’s voice was hoarse, the wind howling and car horns blaring on the other end of the line. “Oh God, you have to answer me! I’m at Sedona airport… but… but something’s happened!”
I remained silent.
“Dad… my dad suddenly had a heart attack right after getting off the plane. He’s being rushed to the emergency room here. Mom is unconscious. I… I don’t know what to do. I need you! I called your mom but she yelled at me and hung up. Clara, I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have left… Where are you? Which hospital? I’ll hire a car to drive me home right away!”
I stared blankly at the white wall.
It turned out that Ethan’s “good time” was the moment karma struck him. He went traveling for fun, but ended up in chaos. And now, the man who abandoned his wife to give birth in his car was begging for help from his own victim.
3. The Twist: The Will and the “Expensive” Car
“Ethan,” I said, my voice cold and icy. “Do you remember what you said? Don’t give birth in your car because the cleaning costs are very high.”
“Clara, I was just joking! Now is not the time…”
“I’m not joking,” I interrupted. “I gave birth to Luna in your car. And you’re right, it’s filthy. Blood, amniotic fluid, and my disgust for you are all over it. But you don’t need to worry about the cleaning costs.”
“What did you say? You’ve given birth? Wait…”
“Because that car doesn’t…”
