As soon as the nurse left with the child, the doctor frowned.
"I spoke to you yesterday, but I don't think you heard me."
"What did you say?"
"That you're the mother of a beautiful baby boy."
Anna smiled.
"I realize that."
"I don't understand... You were fine when you got here, but after the baby was born, your body reacted as if I had taken your health along with the child."
Anna understood immediately. The baby kept her healthy. Without it, she would become fragile again. And also, without knowing when a werewolf would be approaching, even though she hadn't met any werewolves after her escape. Now was the time for her to prepare and make plans for the future.
The doctor talked to Anna a little longer and after he left, the waitress approached.
"I don't think you need me anymore. I'll go back, maybe my job will still be there."
"I really appreciate what you've done for me, I swear I'll repay you one day. You used your resources to get me admitted here and we're complete strangers..."
"I put you on my plan, but then someone decided to pay for your care here."
"You said I was your daughter..."
"I use a false name, miss. And I showed the receptionist my documents from when I was younger, praying she wouldn't notice, and she didn't even look at them properly and gave them back to me."
"You said... Someone? But I don't have anyone!" Anna said fearfully.
"Your name is Anna, right?"
"Yes... But how do you know that?" She asked now, certain that she had been found by Adam. He would kill her and the child. She felt as if she had committed a crime, being chased by Adam. An angry and dangerous mob boss.
"I heard some men dressed in black talking down the corridor, and I figured it was you they were talking about."
Anna thought. There was no doubt. And the reality of having been found by Adam began to gain strength in her terrified heart. But the waitress's conversation, after this information, was so pleasant that she forgot all about her fears. What's more, she was very happy with motherhood and longed for them to bring her son back soon so that she could feed him, which made her look anxiously towards the door all the time.
It was inevitable to notice that the waitress was doing the same thing of looking anxiously at the door every three minutes.
Anna began to observe her behavior more closely and discovered that she was even sweating. Anna immediately recognized the fear in her eyes. She no longer listened to her words, she was lost in her attitudes. What was causing her so much fear? Anna waited for her to finish her last line, and interrupted her before she started talking non-stop again.
"You didn't tell me your name."
"I'm Beth."
"It's nice to meet you, Beth, but... what's going on?"
"Nothing..." She said, shaking her shoulders.
"You can tell me, Beth. I need to know if I'm vulnerable here in this hospital."
Beth stared at her wide-eyed, but remained silent.
"Beth, tell me, please! Don't you think I have the right to have the chance to at least try to save my life and the life of my son? Don't hide from me. What did you see out there?" She insisted.
"Anna, I don't know what you did, but the people out there are powerful. There are several men dressed in expensive suits, and in their carelessness I saw that they are armed. And they were talking about you. Something about taking you out of the country. I don't know how you're going to escape, because the corridor is full of them. They're watching this room. They've even closed off this wing of the hospital. I saw everything as soon as the doctor came in, I went to the water fountain..."
Anna returned to her previous fear. Adam found her. Maybe he won't kill her, but he'll certainly separate her from the child anyway. And that she couldn't allow. She would die fighting for her child.
"Can't you call the police?" Anna asked, trying to think of ways out of the situation.
"They're there too. I think the men in suits must be policemen, too. They talk to each other as if they were old acquaintances."
Anna looked at her even more worriedly. What had Adam been up to these past few months? What kind of arrangement would make him have such a friendship with the military? He had always hated them. He tolerated them out of convenience, but he definitely hated them. Several times, she saw him open a champagne flute every time he heard about the death of one of them. And it was almost impossible to get one of his men not to wear a suit, because they liked to see the admiring and fearful looks wherever they went. I couldn't imagine Caricature without a suit."
"Beth... What do these men look like?"
"They're big and strong..."
Werewolves! Anna thought quickly.
"But did you notice if there was a leader among them?"
"Oh yes! That was quite easy to recognize, because their leader told the receptionist that you were related to him. He thanked her and gave her money for informing him that you had gone into hospital to give birth that night, but he wasn't alone. A woman was with him."
Kate! Anna concluded again.
"But how could the receptionist have known it was me? I imagine there must be a lot of ragged women passing through here to give birth..."
"Yes, that's true. But she told me that he followed your trail all the way to this town. He had a photo of you. Only he didn't want to put it up anywhere, because he felt you were close and that you'd run away if you knew he was onto you... They knew that you were going to give birth this month, and they put all the hospitals and clinics on alert... And on the other hand, you really do resemble each other..."
Anna didn't hear Beth's last sentence. She threw the covers aside and got up with difficulty and went to the window. She had to find a way to escape with her son. But she wasn't having any luck, and this time they were on the third floor. She could get down the fire escape, but she wondered if she could do it carrying a child in her arms.