Chapter 4 - Red and Blue Lights in the DarkBefore Mercedes could recover enough breath to scream a denial, the sharp, wailing shriek of emergency sirens tore through the crisp mountain air.
Wee-woo! Wee-woo!
Two red-and-blue flashing lights rounded the bend of the private mountain road, tires crunching loudly against the gravel driveway as an Aspen ambulance and a county police cruiser swept toward the terrace.
The vehicles came to a sliding halt right beside the patio.
Car doors flew open. Two paramedics in heavy winter jackets hopped out, grabbing trauma kits and an oxygen cylinder, while two armed county deputies stepped out of the police cruiser, their hands resting on their utility belts.
“Evening, folks! We received an emergency dispatch for a pregnant female subjected to hypothermic shock and physical assault,” the lead officer announced loudly, scanning the stunned crowd. “Where is the patient?”
Mercedes gasped, clutching her pearls as she rushed forward. “Assault?! There was no assault! This is a private family gathering! Get those vehicles off my property immediately!”
Elena raised her hand, stepping into the path of the approaching paramedics.
“I am the patient,” Elena said clearly, pulling her thermal wrap tighter around her shivering shoulders.
The lead paramedic immediately rushed to her side, placing a digital pulse oximeter on her finger and draping a heated blanket over her back. “Ma’am, your heart rate is elevated and your core temperature is dangerously low. We need to get you into the mobile unit right now for fetal monitoring.”
One of the police officers strode forward, his eyes narrowing as he looked between Elena, Álvaro, and the twenty-three relatives standing around them in stunned silence.
“Ma’am, did someone cause you harm?” the officer asked, pulling out his notebook and clicking his pen.
“Yes, Officer,” Elena replied without a second of hesitation, pointing directly at her husband. “My husband, Álvaro De La Rosa, and two of his cousins—Mateo and Carlos—physically grabbed me, dragged me across this lawn, and threw me into the freezing lake while I am eight months pregnant.”
Álvaro’s face turned ghastly pale. He took a staggering step backward, raising his hands defensively.
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“Officer, she’s lying! It was a joke! A family prank!” Álvaro stammered frantically, sweat beading across his forehead. “She’s unhinged! She’s trying to ruin my reputation because her business accounts had a temporary glitch!”
“A glitch?” the officer barked skeptically. He looked at Mateo and Carlos, who were frantically trying to delete call logs from their locked phones in the background. “Mates, put your hands behind your backs. You’re being detained for domestic assault and reckless endangerment of an unborn child.”
