Chapter 1

The grey gates of the hallway at Belford Hospital opens. A stretcher with a heavily pregnant woman on it is crying in pain. Several paramedics around it are moving the stretcher as fast as they can. 

"Move to the sides...it's an emergency here," a young paramedic having Bill Smith printed on his blue uniform calls out. 

An old woman but with colored black hair is cursing in a low voice at the woman on the stretcher. "You should have died...before you brought this shame upon us," she says. 

The woman on the stretcher is in too much pain to even hear her voice clearly far be the reply.

"What kind of woman are you?" whimpers Bill looking at the old woman. 

"Shut up, you don't know who I am?" she barks. 

The row of patients standing near a counter sways to make way. Bill looks towards the clear way in front and pulls the stretcher faster. "Don't need to...your behavior gives it all."

On getting insulted as a feckless woman, the old woman's low-voiced curses stop. She adjusts her white pearl necklace to the perfect oval shape on her chest. The queen anne neckline black dress of hers contrasts the necklace.

She scratches her right eye as a twitch runs there. Dark colossal smudges a bit around her right eye. A look at her finger informs her of the makeup now gone wrong. She looks around as if afraid to be seen like this in public. 

A yellow wood door with rectangle glasses in the upper part appears in their view. Taking a sigh of relief, Bill stops the stretcher in its front. The door gets opened and hospital staff pushes in the stretcher.

"You can't go in there," Bill points at the signboard having Operation Room glowing green. 

The old woman stops near the gate and sneaks in through the glass door. Two assistant doctors are wearing their masks and gloves. With the help of a faded mirage of her in the glass door, she makes her eyeliner right.

Bill takes a good look at the woman from her tip to toe. The white pearls, shiny black dress, and a white Gucci handbag with golden straps are making him feel penniless. She is wearing her arrogance like pride over her light brown face.

Dr. Maria Wells walks up to the door. She is young, around Bill's age. "Maria...a word?" asks Bill politely. 

"I'm going in for an operation," she denies. 

"It'll only take a minute," he pleads.

"Okay," she says and moves to a corner as Bill signals her. 

"Everything about that woman looks spooky to me...she was cursing that poor soul," he states in a saddening low voice. 

Taking a glance at the woman behind, she turns to him. "I'm not getting good vibes from her either," she hisses. 

"The girl inside is your responsibility...don't know what those evil eyes under the aviator glasses are hiding," he remarks on the woman's brown shade glasses that she put back on.

Maria nods and asks, "Poor soul...What age is she?" 

"In her twenties...she looks about your age," he indicates.

Giving a comforting blink she walks towards the gate. "Be careful in there," he says, waving a bye. 

"Don't worry," she replies, opening the gate. 

A tall man in a black suit walks up to the woman. "Where is she?" the man asks in a rumbling voice.

"She is inside," she replies in a meeking tone and puts her glasses in her bag.

"You should have been more careful with her," whimpers the man.

"Oh, honey I'm dying to see her...but they're not letting me in," with eyes now filled with tears. Her voice is cracking in between as if she had come running.

"Calm down, Elora...she'll be fine," he says and puts her face over his shoulders. She wraps her arm around him. Her face emerges over his shoulder and sends a spooky wave to Bill standing in the corner at a distance.

Bill takes his eyes off them as his phone buzzes off. Taking his phone to his ears he greets, "Good evening sir, how can I help you?"

"Okay..aha.. where?" He talks over the phone and takes out a handy notepad from his blue pants pocket. He notes the address and walks towards the exit.

A few minutes later, the gate of the operation room opens and a nurse steps out in a hurry. "How is she?" asks the man impatiently.

"Sir, the baby is okay but," the nurse gets cut off in between. "I said how is my daughter?" the man repeats in a stern tone. 

"She's lost a lot of blood...she is AB-...we're already running short on it," says the nurse in a panicked voice.

"Take mine," he says with conviction.

"Honey," protests Elora.

"She's my baby girl...I'll do anything for her," says the man with warm eyes.

The nurse walks in hurriedly. "Follow me...we don't have much time."

The man follows her immediately. Assistant doctors inside take out the man's blood but on putting it for the test they return it back. "I'm sorry sir, your blood type doesn't match," says one of the assistant doctors.

'What?...I'm her father," says the man in shock.

"I'm afraid to tell you but blood says differently...will you donate Ma'am?" the doctor asks Elora standing behind him.

"I'm her stepmother and surely not her blood type," she prompts instantly.

The man stumbles walking towards the exit. His head is so heavy that it weighs him down and his gaze is fixed on the floor. "Robert," Elora follows him.

"Ma'am, what do we do with her?" the doctor asks Elora walking out. 

"Take my blood...I'm AB-," says Maria, taking off her Mask. 

Elora looks back in shock. She lets Robert go his way and she walks in stomping her feet. "Who are you?" she asks as if threatening her not to do this.

"I'm Dr. Maria Wells and I'm a sensitive human unlike you," she says looking straight in her eye. 

Elora's hate for her daughter and this newly appeared savior of her is vividly visible on her face. Her nose scrunches as she grits her teeth. But she doesn't leave the room and takes a seat in the corner.

Maria lies in a bed beside and doctors prepare for the blood transfer. "She needs a lot of blood, are you sure Doctor Wells?" asks the nurse in a concerned tone.

Maria takes a look at the girl's rosy cheeks that are now turned pale due to lack of blood. As her eyes trail to Elora sitting in the corner, she feels pity for the poor soul. "Do It," she grunts.

Blood transfer doesn't go easy for her. As the second bottle gets filled with her blood. Maria's eyes get heavy and in a few moments, she loses consciousness.

The young woman wakes up with a migraine. "Ah, here wakes up the shame," Elora jumps on her feet and walks up to her.

"I don't have the strength to fight you...where is dad?" She looks around the room.

"He left you and I mean for life," barks Elora.

"What do you mean?" she asks, confused.

"Dear Emma, you are no longer a Shwagner...he's abandoned you..actually you were never one, to begin with," states Elora smirking.

"Can you be more cryptic?" she puts her hand over her spinning head.

"Doctors tested your blood with him...you're not his daughter so he's gone and has asked to never show your face to him," smiling ear to ear she explains as if congratulating her.

A silence descends upon Emma. Her migraine makes her vision blurry and she falls on the bed. 

When she is awakened by a nurse a few minutes later. She looks for Elora but she's nowhere in sight.

The nurse puts her baby in her lap. "Do you have somebody to pay your bills?"

Emma looks around the room. "Not anymore."

"I'm afraid...you have to leave this place," says Nurse in a saddening tone.

She nods and stands up on her feet keeping her newborn baby close to her chest. "Who is she?" she asks, looking at Maria still fainted in a bed beside her.

"Dr. Maria Wells...she gave you blood," replies the nurse, putting a small cloth over the baby's body.

"God Bless her," wishing Emma walks out of the hospital. The dark stormy night is cold enough to send a chill down her spine. She grips her baby tighter.