The contractions tore through me like lightning, each one more brutal than the last. The sterile hospital room spun as another wave of pain crashed over my body.
"Breathe, Anna. Just like we practiced." Samantha's voice anchored me through the fog. Her honey-blonde hair was tucked under a baseball cap, oversized sunglasses perched on her nose despite being indoors. The disguise would have made me laugh under different circumstances.
"I can't—" My words choked off as another contraction seized me. I clutched the metal railings of the hospital bed, knuckles white.
"Yes, you can." Sam gripped my hand. "You've survived worse than this."
Images of Michael's face flashed through my mind—his expression when I'd caught him with Jessica, the cold courtroom, Elizabeth's triumphant smile. The mem
