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Chapter 15: The Child He Never Found

作者: ChupiCha
last update 公開日: 2026-05-23 11:18:34

(Keyla POV)

The contractions started at 2 a.m. on a Wednesday, which would have been annoying under any circumstance. Unfortunately, labor did not care about my plans.

I called Nora first. It rang six times before going to voicemail, and those six rings scared me more than the contractions had so far. Rain hammered the window, my go-bag waited by the door where it had been since week thirty-four, and for one awful second I thought I might have to do this completely alone. I left a message,
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    (Keyla POV) The contractions started at 2 a.m. on a Wednesday, which would have been annoying under any circumstance. Unfortunately, labor did not care about my plans. I called Nora first. It rang six times before going to voicemail, and those six rings scared me more than the contractions had so far. Rain hammered the window, my go-bag waited by the door where it had been since week thirty-four, and for one awful second I thought I might have to do this completely alone. I left a message, hung up, and called a taxi. She called back while I was forcing my shoes on between contractions.“I’m here. I’m here. How far apart?” "Eight minutes. Maybe seven now." "Okay." The sound of movement on her end, fast. "The clinic on Brewer Street, yes? The one we toured?" "Already called them. They're expecting me." "I'm getting on the first flight I can — four hours, maybe five. Can you—" "I'll be fine." I picked up the bag. The cufflink envelope was still at the bottom of the bag wh

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    (Keyla POV)“Father’s name?”The nurse balanced a clipboard against her hip, pen already moving before my answer had fully landed. She had the kind of efficiency that came from asking the same questions all day and surviving them by not thinking too hard.“Leave it blank,” I said.She noted it without comment, moved to the next field. I watched her hand move down the form and thought about how much a blank space could say if the wrong person cared enough to read it. It could mean unknown, absent, refused, or dangerous. Mine was the last one. The nurse didn’t need to know which one applied here, and I wasn’t going to explain.The appointment should have been routine. Blood pressure first, then weight, then the ultrasound that took longer because the baby had turned himself into a difficult little tenant and the technician needed another angle. The gel was cold enough to make my stomach tighten, and the probe moved in slow, careful arcs while I stared at the ceiling and pretended my bre

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