Chapter 4 - The Woman Alex Carried.
Emily did not believe Claire at first.
Believing her would mean the terror in the elevator had not been bad luck.
It would mean someone had watched a pregnant woman and an injured stranger choke in smoke and had deliberately tried to keep the doors closed.
"Who would do that?"
Claire's fingers tightened around the wheelchair armrest.
"Someone who knew what I had."
"You said you had reports."
"And recordings."
Emily's eyes narrowed.
"Recordings of who?"
Claire looked toward the NICU doors before answering.
"Executives at Vale and a city fire official."
Emily felt cold.
"What fire official?"
Claire shook her head.
"I promised Alex I wouldn't say the name unless we were somewhere secure."
"You trusted my husband enough to risk his life, but not enough to tell his wife why she almost died?"
"Emily, I didn't know you would be at the building."
"Neither did Alex."
Claire's silence confirmed it.
Emily's chest tightened.
That evening had begun with something ordinary.
She had gone downtown to surprise Alex after his shift because it was their sixth wedding anniversary.
She had worn the pink maternity dress he loved.
She had made a reservation at the restaurant on the ground floor of the Vale building.
Alex had texted that he might be late.
Emily had arrived anyway.
Then she had seen him through the restaurant window speaking intensely with Claire at a corner table.
He had not looked romantic.
He had looked frightened.
Before Emily could enter, the fire alarm sounded.
Now every detail rearranged itself inside her head.
"He lied to me."
Claire's voice was soft.
"He kept something from you."
"That's a polite way to say it."
"He was afraid you'd become a target."
Emily looked down at Grace through the glass.
"That worked out well."
Claire started crying.
"I'm sorry."
Emily had no energy to comfort her.
"Where are the recordings now?"
"They were in my satchel."
"The one from the elevator?"
Claire nodded.
"It's gone."
A chill moved across Emily's shoulders.
"Who took it?"
"Alex thinks someone from the fire scene did."
"Alex has been here?"
Claire froze.
The answer was immediate and devastating.
Emily turned toward her.
"Has Alex been here?"
Claire looked at the floor.
"He came to my room about an hour ago."
Emily felt as though the C-section incision had opened again.
"He came to see you before he came to see his daughter?"
"He came because someone tried to enter my room pretending to be hospital security."
"And he still hasn't come to me."
"Emily—"
"Get out."
"Please listen."
"Get out."
Claire rolled backward, tears in her eyes.
At the doorway, she stopped.
"There is one thing you need to know."
Emily did not answer.
"When Alex carried me out, I wasn't calling for him."
Emily looked over.
Claire touched the bandage on her forehead.
"I said 'Fairy' because that's the code name on the audio file."
"What audio file?"
"The one that proves who ordered the warehouse inspection falsified."
Emily felt her pulse quicken.
"Why call it Fairy?"
Claire's eyes hardened.
"Because the man on the recording called dead firefighters collateral dust."
She swallowed.
"Alex's partner was one of them."
Claire left.
Twenty minutes later, Alex finally appeared.
He wore hospital scrubs someone had given him after his turnout gear was taken for decontamination.
His hair was still damp.
There was soot under one fingernail and a fresh cut across his palm.
Emily noticed all of it before she noticed the ring.
Her diamond ring hung from a thin hospital chain around his neck.
He stopped when he saw her.
Neither of them spoke.
Alex looked through the glass at Grace.
His face crumpled.
He covered his mouth with one hand.
Emily had seen him pull injured children from wrecked cars without breaking.
She had seen him stand at funerals with his spine straight while bagpipes played.
She had never seen him look like this.
He stepped toward the incubator window.
"Is she—"
"Alive."
His shoulders shook once.
"Can I see her?"
"You're asking me?"
Alex closed his eyes.
"I deserve that."
Emily laughed bitterly.
"Do you?"
"I should have told you about Claire."
"You should have come back for me."
"I did."
Emily stared at him.
"What?"
"I handed Claire to triage and turned around. Reed ordered me upstairs. I refused. Then Ben called the obstetric emergency and told me you were already being transported."
"So you stayed."
"There were people trapped."
"There is always someone trapped, Alex."
He looked at Grace.
"I know."
Emily's anger wavered because he looked destroyed.
Then she remembered Claire's words.
"You saw her before you saw us."
Alex did not deny it.
"Someone tried to get into her room."
"So you protected her again."
"I was protecting the evidence."
"Your daughter was born without you."
Alex pulled the ring from beneath his scrub shirt and held it in his palm.
"When Ben gave me this, I thought you were dead."
His voice broke.
Emily looked away.
"Maybe you should have wondered why I thought I was."
Alex nodded slowly.
"I have every second since."
Before either could say more, Ben appeared at the end of the hallway.
He was no longer wearing turnout gear.
His face was pale.
"Alex."
Alex turned.
Ben held up a clear evidence bag.
Inside it was a small black plastic fragment coated with soot.
"I found this stuck inside my glove after the elevator."
Alex frowned.
"What is it?"
Ben looked at Emily's ring.
"I think it was wedged under the diamond setting when she handed me the ring."
Emily stared.
The fragment was no larger than a fingernail.
Ben swallowed.
May you like
"It's a microSD card."
GIVE THIS TO ALEX
