Everything around me turned scorching hot.
I couldn't see. My hand brushed against a burning easel by accident.
Pain ripped across the back of my hand, and I gasped through clenched teeth.
Stephanie laughed, a sharp, taunting sound, and squeezed my hand tight so I couldn't run.
"Today, I'm going to show you exactly who the woman Dominic truly loves is."
The smoke thickened. I couldn't stop coughing.
The oxygen in my lungs was running out. My legs buckled and I collapsed to the floor.
The door shuddered with a deafening crash.
Dominic's voice, frantic.
"Joanna! Are you okay? Don't be scared. I'm coming to get you."
He called my name again and again.
When I didn't answer, his voice grew more desperate.
The instant the door burst open, Stephanie yanked me backward and crumpled to the ground.
"My stomach... it hurts so much..."
A fragile, pitiful whimper.
The footsteps that had been charging straight toward me faltered the moment Stephanie cried out, then changed direction entirely.
A brutal, dragging pain tore through my lower abdomen. Cold sweat beaded on my forehead. I screamed his name with every ounce of strength I had left.
"Dominic, save me!"
I was shaking with terror, clawing and crawling across the floor, desperate to find a way out for my baby.
Dominic's footsteps faltered again.
He was caught between us, paralyzed with indecision. I bit down on the tip of my tongue to force myself to stay conscious.
"I can't see... please, just save me first?"
I made myself small. I begged. I prayed he would choose me.
But he'd barely taken a few steps before Stephanie's agonized sobbing filled the air again.
Her voice was barely a whisper. "Save our baby." Then she went silent.
The uneven footsteps moved further and further away from me.
Ice flooded my veins. I curled into myself on instinct, wrapping my body around my belly.
A sharp crack split the air, followed by a blast of searing heat.
A burning easel crashed down onto both my hands.
Tears streamed down my face. I writhed and squirmed, dragging my hands free inch by inch.
The skin on the backs of my hands was raw and blistering. When I touched them, all I felt were welts.
My consciousness dimmed. Tears of pure despair slid down my cheeks.
Who's going to save me and my baby?
In the last second before everything went dark, I heard the wail of sirens.
Someone lifted me gently, carefully, and carried me somewhere I couldn't name.