Don’t worry about him. I’ll tie him up properly
Dora did not blink. She stood still, staring at Douglas lying motionless on the floor. Everything she had been holding inside, the pain, the anger, the exhaustion, all of it rushed through her like a storm. She had no idea what the next hour would bring or how her life would change after this. But right then, she simply did not care.
She was tired of being the girl who always got hurt. Tired of waiting to be saved. Her heart had been broken too many times, and now something inside her cracked. She could not take any more.
In the chaos of her thoughts, she missed the one thing that usually comforted her, the gentle kick of her baby. It was not there. And then came a sharp ache running up her back and across her stomach. Her hands were still tied, but she barely noticed Daniel rushing in and freeing her wrists. His voice was loud, full of panic, but it did not register in her mind.
All she could feel was pain. A loud cry tore from her throat as her legs gave out beneath her. For a second, everything around her disappeared, no voices, no movement, just the heavy sound of her heartbeat pounding in her ears. She knew she was falling, but before she hit the ground, someone caught her.
Austin. He had heard her scream, and it felt like his chest had been ripped open. He reached her in seconds, holding her tightly, trying to keep her upright. She grabbed his shirt like it was the only thing keeping her alive, her fingers digging into the fabric until her knuckles turned pale. Another rush of pain hit her, and she leaned back, screaming again.
"Dora," Austin called her name, panic in his eyes as he watched the woman he loved suffering.
Daniel quickly stepped closer, pointing at her legs. That was when Austin saw it, the blood.
His stomach twisted. Relief from Douglas passing out was short-lived; now this was happening. A fresh wave of fear hit him like a wall.
"Austin... our baby..." Dora said weakly, and his eyes darted back to her face.
Daniel took charge before Austin could lose it completely. “She needs a hospital. Now!”
“I... I...” Austin choked, staring at the blood that kept trailing down her legs.
Her face twisted in pain again, and he felt helpless, as if someone had cut open his chest and filled it with glass. His own arm was bleeding from earlier, but that meant nothing now. Nothing mattered but her.
Without another thought, he scooped her into his arms. He turned to Daniel, desperate.
“I parked outside. Go now. I will take care of him,” Daniel said, nodding toward Douglas lying on the floor.
As Austin carried Dora out, one name stayed on his lips, one that brought another sting of grief.
“Ronan…”
"I already put him in the backseat before coming here. Drive to the nearest hospital now. I’m calling the police to take care of him," Daniel said as he gave Douglas a hard kick to make sure he was no longer a threat.
When Austin hesitated, Daniel added with his usual calm smile, “Don’t worry about him. I’ll tie him up properly.”
That was all Austin needed to hear. Without wasting another second, he rushed out with Dora in his arms while Daniel dialled the authorities.
If it had not been for the marks Ronan had left on the trees, Austin doubted he would have ever made it out of that thick forest.
He carefully placed Dora in the passenger seat, then gave a quick glance at the backseat where Ronan was lying. Satisfied, he slid behind the wheel. With trembling hands, he started the engine and sped through the narrow forest path, whispering softly, “I’m sorry, Catty. I’m so sorry I was late.”
Tears rolled silently down his cheeks, but he forced himself to focus. Dora needed him more than ever.
“I... never... thought I would make it out alive,” Dora said through clenched teeth. “Austin… I… I thought… our baby would not…”
She could not finish her sentence. Her hand grabbed the door handle, shaking from the pain.
“No, no, love. Do not talk… stay with me. I will not let anything happen to you,” Austin said, shifting gears as carefully as he could. The rough road made the ride harder for Dora, every bump sending waves of pain through her.
He lowered the gear, trying to drive smoother, but the fear building inside him made it harder to concentrate. He wanted to scream, but one look at Dora’s pale face made him slap his own cheek, trying to snap out of it.
"Dora!" Her cry tore through him, and he quickly reached for her hand, kissing her trembling fingers. “Please, just hold on a little longer. I wish I could take all this pain away from you.”
The moment he saw the edge of the forest, he checked her seatbelt and then hit the accelerator. The tyres screeched as they left the dirt road behind. Now on smooth ground, the car moved faster. Austin kept glancing in the rearview mirror at Ronan, making sure he was still breathing, while talking to Dora to keep her conscious.
His eyes landed on the trail of blood on the seat beside her. He quickly looked away and swallowed the lump in his throat.
“What… what should we name our daughter?” he asked gently, noticing her eyelids growing heavier.
“Save… our baby…” Dora whispered.
“Don’t! Do not you dare, Dora. Stay with me! If you fall asleep now, I’ll name the baby myself, and you will not get a say. Did you hear me?” he shouted, desperate to keep her awake.
She barely reacted, her body trembling. Dora was trying with every bit of strength left in her to stay conscious. She knew she had to hold on, for their baby. But the pain was getting worse. She had been through so much in the last three months, and everything that happened in the basement had drained her. She had reached her limit.
Her body was screaming for rest. For peace.
“Dora!” Austin’s voice roared through the air, and her eyes fluttered open just a little.
And then, as if forgetting where they were, what was happening, his voice cracked again.
“How dare you kiss him in front of your husband?!”
A faint smile appeared on Dora’s face. If it had been a different time, she would have teased him back. But knowing he was only trying to distract her from the pain, she whispered, “You’ll have to get used to it. M-my son will…”
She clenched her jaw as another wave of pain hit her, then mumbled, “...get all my kisses.”
“Who said we’re having a son?” Austin replied softly. “We’ll have a beautiful daughter, just like you.”
He wanted so badly to hold her, to kiss her, to keep her safe in his arms. But he couldn’t. Not now.
“Definitely a son,” Dora whispered, before her eyes closed and her body went limp.
“Dora?” Austin called out, quickly patting her cheek. Panic surged through him. Something felt wrong, terribly wrong.
Now on the highway with little traffic, he pressed down on the accelerator, dodging cars and speeding towards the city. As he entered city limits, he punched in the nearest hospital on the car’s GPS. He didn’t slow down, even when he noticed a police car tailing him.
The officer, seeing the car speeding without stopping even after being warned, went on high alert. The busy city street quickly turned chaotic. Pedestrians jumped out of the way as the police sirens wailed, chasing after Austin’s car. Another police vehicle soon joined the pursuit.
But Austin didn’t care. All that mattered was reaching the hospital. Dora needed help, and fast. As soon as he saw the hospital entrance, he swerved into the driveway and slammed the brakes. The car screeched to a halt, startling the people nearby. Without waiting for the car to fully stop, Austin jumped out, shouting, “Emergency! Please help!”
He rushed to grab a stretcher with the help of a ward boy. Just then, the police car pulled into the hospital drive, and officers leapt out, grabbing Austin roughly. His bleeding arm and disheveled appearance made him look like a suspect on the run.
“My wife! My wife!” Austin cried out, struggling in their grip, his eyes locked on Dora’s pale face.
The officers followed his gaze and saw the woman and another man unconscious inside the car. One officer quickly radioed for help while the other loosened his grip on Austin and motioned for the ward boy to take the victims inside.
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