Chapter 1 - THE WATER TURNED RED
The instant I hit the pool, every bit of air exploded from my lungs.
Pain tore through my abdomen as darkness swallowed me.
Somewhere above the water, voices reached me through the blur.
Laughter.
Not screams.
Not panic.
Laughter.
My mother, my father, and my twin sister stood at the edge watching me sink.
And I was eight months pregnant.
My name is Sarah Brooks, and until that day, I never understood how much my family hated me.
Growing up in Charlotte, North Carolina, Emily and I had been inseparable.
We shared a bedroom.
Traded clothes.
Whispered secrets after bedtime.
Promised we would always be best friends.
At least, that was what I believed.
Looking back, the truth had always been there.
Our mother, Linda Brooks, worshipped Emily.
When Emily made a mistake, Mom rushed to protect her.
When I accomplished something, Mom somehow redirected the attention toward my sister.
“Sarah is strong,” she always told people.
For years, I believed that was praise.
It was not.
It was permission to neglect me.
If I was strong, I did not need help.
Did not need comfort.
Did not need protection.
Emily learned that lesson early.
Whenever she wanted something, Mom provided it.
Whenever she wanted something belonging to me, I was expected to surrender it.
I became less like a sister and more like Emily’s emergency fund.
Her backup plan.
Her shield against consequences.
And I cooperated.
Again and again.
Until she asked for something I would never give away.
My baby’s future.
Emily and I became pregnant only weeks apart.
I had spent years saving carefully and built an $18,000 fund for my child.
Emily spent nearly everything she earned.
She purchased designer maternity clothes, hired an expensive photographer, ordered custom nursery furniture, and planned a baby shower larger than some weddings.
Then came the announcement.
The backyard was crowded with friends, relatives, pastel balloons, gifts, and smiling faces.
Mom tapped her glass.
“I have wonderful news.”
The guests quieted.
She pointed directly at me.
“Sarah has eighteen thousand dollars saved for her baby. Emily needs it more, so Sarah is going to give it to her.”
A murmur moved through the yard.
My stomach dropped.
“What?”
Mom folded her arms.
“You heard me.”
Emily sat beside a mountain of gifts, smiling.
I rose slowly.
“No.”
The smile vanished from Mom’s face.
“No?”
“That money belongs to my baby.”
“You have a stable career and a responsible husband. Emily is struggling.”
“That does not make her entitled to my savings.”
Mom’s eyes narrowed.
“You’re selfish.”
“No. I’m being a mother.”
She crossed the space between us.
I saw her hand curl.
But I never believed she would actually strike me.
Her fist drove into my abdomen.
Agony exploded through my body.
I doubled over.
Then warmth rushed down my legs.
My water broke.
I stumbled backward and crashed into the pool.
Cold water closed over my head.
My body would not respond properly.
My dress dragged me downward.
Through the water, I saw distorted shapes standing above me.
My father, Gerald, did not move.
Emily leaned over the pool.
I heard his voice.
“Let her float there and think about her selfishness.”
Then Emily laughed.
“Maybe now she’ll learn how to share.”
My vision narrowed.
Then another figure moved.
A woman I had never met threw off her shoes and jumped into the pool.
She reached beneath my arms and dragged me toward the surface.
Her name was Nora Ellis.
She was a labor-and-delivery nurse invited by one of Emily’s coworkers.
Nora pulled me onto the concrete while another guest called 911.
When I regained consciousness, my soaked dress clung to my body.
A violent cramp tore through my abdomen.
Nora knelt beside me.
“Sarah, can you hear me?”
“My baby.”
“Help is coming.”
I looked down.
Blood spread across the pale fabric covering my stomach.
Then I realized something worse.
My baby had stopped moving.
I screamed.
Nora placed one hand beside my neck and the other near my shoulder.
“Stay with me. Do not try to stand.”
Mom stepped closer.
“She slipped.”
Nora looked up at her.
“I saw you hit her.”
“You’re mistaken.”
“I was recording the gift table when it happened.”
For the first time, Mom’s expression changed.
Emily rose from her chair.
“Delete it.”
Nora stared at her.
“Call an ambulance for your sister.”
“She’s dramatic,” Emily said. “She always does this when attention isn’t on her.”
Nora’s face became cold.
“She is bleeding while eight months pregnant.”
My father glanced toward the gate.
“We can drive her ourselves. No need to involve police.”
Nora tightened her grip on my wrist.
“She is not going anywhere with you.”
The sirens arrived four minutes later.
My husband, Owen Lane, was on a construction site forty miles away when a paramedic called him from my phone.
I remember hearing his voice through the speaker.
“Sarah? Sarah, answer me.”
I tried.
Nothing came out.
May you like
The ambulance doors closed while my mother shouted that I had ruined Emily’s celebration.
That was the last thing I heard before everything disappeared again.
