Blood on the Docks
874 Words
The beeping of machines was the first sound Emma heard.
Sharp, steady, cruel. Each note hammered the truth into her: she was alive, but something inside her was gone.
Her body ached as if every bone had splintered. Her lips were dry, her throat raw. Slowly, painfully, she opened her eyes. The world swam into focus—white walls, harsh lights, the sterile smell of antiseptic. A hospital.
Her trembling hand moved instinctively to her stomach.
Flat. Empty.
“No…” The word cracked out of her like glass breaking.
The nurse rushed to her side, pressing gentle hands against her shoulders. “Mrs. Knight, please don’t move. You need to rest.”
Emma’s pulse pounded in her ears. “The baby?” she whispered. “Please… tell me the baby is—”
The nurse’s eyes softened. She didn’t speak, but she didn’t need to.
Emma screamed. The sound ripped from her chest, tearing the silence of the room apart. She clutched her stomach, sobbing until her body convulsed with pain. She had prayed this child would save her marriage, give her life meaning. And now—gone. All gone.
The door opened.
Adrian walked in.
For a fleeting second, hope lit her eyes. Maybe he’d hold her. Maybe he’d tell her everything would be okay. Maybe—
His expression was stone. His voice was colder than the machines surrounding her. “It’s over, Emma.”
She blinked at him, tears blurring her vision. “Our baby—”
“Not mine,” he cut sharply. “Don’t ever call it mine.”
Her breath caught. “Adrian, please, I swear—”
He leaned closer, his gaze piercing. “You’ve embarrassed me for the last time. When you’re discharged, don’t come back to my house. You’re finished here.”
Emma’s heart shattered. Her sobs turned into silence, too heavy to voice. She stared at him, searching for even a shred of the man she once hoped he could be. There was nothing. Only a void.
The nurse shifted uneasily, glancing between them, but said nothing.
Adrian turned and walked out, his footsteps fading, leaving Emma with the echo of his rejection.
---
Hours passed. Emma drifted between sleep and grief. Each time she woke, she touched her stomach, praying it had all been a nightmare. But reality clawed back each time, sharper than before.
When she was finally discharged two days later, the nurse helped her dress in borrowed clothes. Her own dress had been ruined in blood.
Outside, a car waited. The Knight chauffeur, eyes fixed on the road, said nothing as she climbed in. The silence was unbearable, but Emma’s throat was too raw to break it.
The mansion loomed like a prison when they arrived. She hesitated at the gates, but the chauffeur ushered her out, her small suitcase set at her feet.
The front doors swung open. Adrian stood in the doorway, not waiting for her, not welcoming her—just standing like a judge ready to deliver a sentence.
“You came back,” he said flatly.
Emma’s voice shook. “I had nowhere else to go.”
His eyes narrowed. “That’s not my problem.” He stepped aside, motioning her in. For a moment, relief flickered inside her. Maybe he wasn’t completely cruel—maybe he would let her explain.
But as she entered the grand foyer, another voice cut through the silence.
“Adrian, darling, I was waiting for you upstairs.”
Emma froze.
Vanessa appeared at the top of the staircase, wearing a silk robe—Emma’s silk robe. Her hair was tousled, her lips curved into a satisfied smile.
Emma’s heart stopped. “Vanessa?”
Vanessa descended slowly, deliberately, each step a dagger. “Oh, Emma. You look… fragile.” Her eyes gleamed. “Hospital gowns don’t suit you.”
Emma’s stomach churned. She looked at Adrian, desperate for denial, for explanation.
He didn’t even flinch.
The truth slammed into her chest like a wrecking ball. Her best friend. The one person she had trusted. In his arms. In her home. Wearing her robe.
Emma stumbled back, her knees threatening to buckle. “How… how could you?”
Vanessa’s smile widened. “How could I? No, darling. How could you? You were given everything—wealth, power, status. And you wasted it. You never deserved him.” She slid her hand along Adrian’s arm, her nails glinting. “But I do.”
Emma’s tears blurred her vision, her whole body trembling. “You were supposed to be my friend.”
Adrian’s voice cut like a blade. “Enough. Take your things and leave, Emma. You’re no longer my wife.”
Her suitcase was shoved into her hands.
The door opened. Rain poured down outside, cold and merciless.
Emma’s legs moved on instinct, carrying her out into the storm. Each drop stung her skin, mixing with her tears. She stumbled through the gates, into the street, the weight of her grief pressing her down.
The world blurred. Her breath came in ragged gasps. She couldn’t see, couldn’t think.
Headlights flashed.
Emma froze in the middle of the road, blinded.
The screech of brakes shattered the night.
Then—impact.
Her world went black.
- Writer
