Chapter 8 - The Woman I Blamed
Serena asked to speak without Ethan, then told the story he had divided between us. At thirty-four weeks, she learned her son's birth was the rescue pitch. She agreed after Ethan promised my room a separate team. Three days before labor, she heard him tell Caleb to "protect Avery from the schedule," a phrase that made no sense until the hall emptied. That morning, Serena refused the VIP transfer and sent her anesthesiologist to me. Ethan carried her away because she was contracting too hard to walk, not because she wanted the attention. The "No" at my doorway had been for him. Caleb's relief came from a private instruction Serena had given every nurse assigned to her: if Ethan moved Avery's team, resist once, then document every order. He had made each of us believe the other demanded proof of love. Serena had not taken my doctors. She had tried, quietly and too late, to return them. The deeper betrayal was that Ethan needed us angry at each other so neither would compare his promises.
