Chapter 18 - THE NIGHT THE BABY CAME|
Labor began two nights later.
Audrey woke with a sharp tightening across her abdomen. At first, she thought it was another false alarm. She had experienced several uncomfortable contractions during the previous weeks.
Then another came.
Stronger.
She reached for the phone.
“Miriam?”
“What's wrong?”
“I think it's time.”
Miriam arrived within minutes and drove her to the hospital. Eddie followed in a separate vehicle, providing security without entering the maternity ward.
The doctor confirmed that Audrey was in labor.
“Your baby is coming,” she said. “We're going to take good care of you.”
Audrey gripped the bedrail.
“Is everything okay?”
“So far, yes.”
Hours passed.
The contractions grew stronger. Nurses moved around the room, checking monitors and adjusting equipment. Miriam stayed beside her, holding her hand.
At one point, Audrey looked toward the door.
“Has Ronin called?”
Miriam hesitated.
“He knows you're here.”
“Did he ask to come?”
“Yes.”
“Tell him not yet.”
Miriam nodded.
Audrey closed her eyes.
She wanted him there.
That was the truth she could not say aloud.
But wanting someone did not mean she was ready to trust him again.
Near dawn, the doctor returned.
“We're going to need to move quickly.”
Audrey's heart began racing.
“What happened?”
“The baby's heart rate is dropping. We may need an emergency delivery.”
The room changed immediately.
Nurses prepared equipment. The doctor gave instructions. Miriam moved away from the bed.
Audrey felt fear rise through her entire body.
“Please,” she whispered. “Please let my baby be okay.”
A nurse leaned close.
“Stay with us. We're here.”
The next minutes became a blur of voices and movement.
Then a cry filled the room.
Small.
Sharp.
Alive.
Audrey began to cry.
“Is my baby okay?”
The doctor smiled.
“She is. You have a healthy little girl.”
A nurse brought the baby close enough for Audrey to see her face.
Dark hair. Tiny fingers. A furious little expression.
Audrey touched her cheek.
“Hello, sweetheart.”
The baby curled her fingers around Audrey's thumb.
Miriam wiped her eyes.
“She's beautiful.”
Audrey laughed through her tears.
“What should we call her?”
She had chosen a name months earlier, but she had never told Ronin.
“Isabelle,” she whispered.
Miriam looked at her.
“After the first Mrs. Keane?”
Audrey nodded.
“After a woman whose story was buried. I want my daughter to know that silence doesn't have to be inherited.”
Later that morning, Ronin received permission to visit.
He entered the room slowly.
His eyes went first to Audrey, then to the baby.
He stopped.
“She's beautiful.”
Audrey looked at him.
“She is.”
“May I hold her?”
She considered the question.
Then she nodded.
Ronin washed his hands and took the baby carefully.
For the first time in years, the most feared man in Miami looked completely uncertain.
“Hello, Isabelle,” he whispered.
The baby opened her eyes.
Ronin smiled.
Then his face crumpled.
He turned away, trying to hide the tears.
Audrey watched him.
“You can stay for a few minutes.”
He nodded.
“Thank you.”
When the nurse came to take the baby for her examination, Ronin handed her over gently.
Before leaving, he looked at Audrey.
“I won't ask you to come home.”
“Good.”
“I'll be there when you need me for her.”
“That is what being her father requires.”
“I know.”
He walked out.
Audrey looked at her daughter.
For the first time since the gala, she felt that the future might belong to her again.
But the next morning, a federal investigator arrived with a final update.
Peter Voss had been charged.
Douglas had agreed to testify.
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And the evidence had revealed that Ronin had concealed one final account.
An account containing money that belonged to Isabelle's mother.
