At that moment, all my doubts vanished.
The next day, while Mark was at work, I took her to St. Helena Medical Center. During the drive, she barely spoke and stared listlessly out the window, which frightened me. The nurse checked her vital signs. The doctor ordered blood tests and an ultrasound. I sat there wringing my hands until they started trembling.
When the door finally opened, Doctor Adler entered with a serious expression on his face, his briefcase clutched tightly as if he were carrying an unbearable burden.
‘Mrs. Carter,’ he said softly, ‘we need to talk.’
Hailey sat trembling next to me on the examination table.
Dr. Adler lowered his voice and said: “The examination showed that something was wrong in her body.”
I held my breath.
‘Inside her?’ I repeated. ‘What do you mean by that?’
He hesitated – and that moment said it all.
I felt a constricting sensation in my chest. The room seemed to tilt. My fingers went numb.
“What… happened?” I whispered.
