Chapter 5 - Code Pink in Courtroom 4B
"Call an ambulance!" Richard shouted, his calm demeanor instantly shattering into frantic concern. "Her water just broke! She's in labor!"
The courtroom erupted into total chaos.
The court clerk dove for the emergency telephone. Eric stood frozen, his eyes wide as he looked from my face down to the puddle of fluid on the polished wood.
"Lydia—" Eric took an instinctive step toward me, reaching out an arm. "Lydia, wait—"
"Stay back from her!" Richard roared, shielding my trembling body with his own. "Do not touch her! Bailiff, keep him away!"
The bailiff grabbed Eric by the collar of his tailored suit, shoving him face-first against the defense table and twisting his arms behind his back. Eric groaned in pain, but his eyes stayed glued to me as I clutched my belly, sinking onto my side on the floor.
"Eric Miller," the bailiff recited loudly over the noise, "you are being detained under direct order of the court—"
"Lydia, please!" Eric gasped out, his face mashed against the wood. "We can settle this! Call Richard off! We don't have to go through the state, we can split it fifty-fifty, just don't let them freeze the trusts!"
Even now. Even with my body tearing itself apart to bring his child into the world, his mind was on the money.
Judge Harper stood at her bench, gavel abandoned, pointing firmly at the doorway. "Clear this courtroom! Keep the hallway open for the EMTs! Mr. Vance, your client is remanded without bail pending grand jury indictment. Get him out of my sight!"
Another contraction tore through me, so fierce it squeezed the vision out of my eyes, leaving behind dots of black and gold. I gripped Richard’s sleeve until my knuckles turned chalky white.
"Richard..." I gasped, fighting for air. "The baby... she's not due for another two weeks..."
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"She's coming today, Lydia," Richard said gently, his older face tight with fatherly worry as he knelt beside me on the hard floor, discarding his expensive suit coat to bunch it under my head. "The paramedics are already in the building. Breathe through it. You've survived the worst part. The truth is out. Now you just bring Caroline home."
Outside the heavy doors, the wail of sirens echoed from the street below.
