His son had just been born, and seconds later, he was gone.
Jonathan stood beside his wife’s bed with trembling hands, staring at the tiny motionless body lying under the warming lights.
Lillian Brooks did not cry, and her eyes remained open as she stared at the ceiling like her mind had quietly broken to protect her from the full weight of reality.
The attending doctor lowered his head slowly and spoke in a heavy voice.
“I am sorry, we did everything we could.”
The words dropped into the room like a final sentence that no one could appeal.
A broken sound escaped Jonathan’s throat, and it was not a scream but something far worse that came from deep inside him.
It was the sound of a man who had just lost everything and no longer knew how to breathe.
Two floors below, Nora Blake was pushing her cleaning cart through the pediatric hallway when she heard two nurses rushing past her.
She did not recognize their faces, but she clearly heard one word that made her stop.
“Resuscitation,” one of them said urgently.
Then came another word that hit her like a blow.
“Failed.”
Nora froze in place as a hollow feeling spread through her chest.