Jamison immediately pulled out his phone and dialed Ivy’s number.

“Hello?”

“Ivy, where are you?” he asked, his voice tight with concern.

“I just left the hospital. Thought I’d spend some time at the mall next door–pick up a few things and wait for you to get off work,” she replied, but sensing something off in his tone, she hesitated. “What’s wrong?”

Jamison’s voice grew heavier. “Emma just showed up at my department. She wanted to know if I was hiding you.”

“She really went to your office?” Ivy was startled, her words tumbling out in a rush. “She didn’t do anything to you, did she? She’s completely lost it lately–like a ticking time bomb.”

“She didn’t do anything to me,” Jamison said, recalling the scene. “But something happened to her. There was blood all over her jeans–probably a threatened miscarriage. I had her rushed to the maternity ward. And there were fresh slap marks on her face. Looks like she’d been in a fight.”

Ivy wasn’t surprised her husband was helping Emma again. They’d talked about it before–she knew Jamison would never let personal grudges affect his work. He was a doctor, after all; saving lives came before all else. With Emma right there in the hospital, there was no way he’d just stand by.

But it was his last comment that made Ivy sigh. “She’s been with Sheridan this whole time. If she’s not being abused, she’s on her way to getting abused. Slap marks on her face are nothing new.”

“Yeah.”

They both assumed Sheridan had hit Emma again, never imagining she’d actually been in a fight with Carla.

It wasn’t until later that evening, when Carla called Jamison asking whether post-exposure medication for HIV really worked, that he finally pieced it together–Emma had come to the hospital to visit Micah, but got into a brutal fight with her sister outside the ICU.

At the moment, Jamison just let out a breath, his tone easing a little. “I was worried you’d run into her and get dragged into a confrontation. Glad that didn’t happen.”

“No, I just left the main building when I saw her. But when I noticed the way she looked at me, I knew she was itching for a fight. I didn’t want to go head to head, so I turned around and ducked back inside. The elevator doors happened to be open, so I hopped in. Figured she might try to follow me upstairs, expecting I’d run to you. So I got off on the second floor, slipped out through the stairwell, and left the hospital that way.”

Truthfully, Ivy had considered heading up to find Jamison at first–but she knew Emma might anticipate that. Besides, she didn’t want to cause trouble for him. The patients in Jamison’s ward were all seriously ill. If Emma lost control in the ward and hurt someone innocent, it would make things even worse for him.

So Ivy changed her mind, quietly blending in with the crowd, and made her escape on the second floor.

Emma was smart–she could predict Ivy’s moves. But Ivy was smarter, she could anticipate Emma’s predictions and stay one step ahead.

Jamison felt a fresh chill run down his spine as Ivy spoke. If she hadn’t been quick enough, if Emma had cornered her…he didn’t even want to think about it.

“I’ll have Boyd find a couple of good bodyguards to watch over you, just in case. Emma’s got nothing left to lose. If she loses the baby, she might lose it completely. Please, be careful.”

Normally, Ivy would have refused. No one liked the idea of being followed, even if it was out of concern from the person they loved most. But this was different. She didn’t want Jamison worrying about her safety, nor did she want to put herself at risk.

She’d fought hard for her happiness. Her good days were just beginning–she wasn’t about to let someone like Emma ruin that.

“Alright. I’ll do as you say.”

Jamison was still busy, so after wrapping up their conversation, they were about to hang up when Ivy remembered something. “Oh, and check on Emma a bit later, would you?”

“I will. I’ve got it on my mind too,” Jamison assured her.

Because if Emma ended up miscarrying, after she recovered she’d be back… for custody. If that happened, they could finally breathe easier.

But fate had other plans.

When Jamison called the maternity ward after work to ask about Emma, he found out she was indeed showing signs of a threatened miscarriage. But the ultrasound showed the baby still had a heartbeat, so–according to protocol–she’d be kept under observation for now.