The nursery felt too quiet.

I sat in the rocking chair, hands cradling my belly, when the first sharp pain hit me a deep, twisting cramp that made me gasp and double over. It wasn’t like the usual kicks. This was different. Wrong.

“Daddy!” I called out, voice shaking.

He appeared in the doorway within seconds, his face shifting from calm to alert in an instant. He crossed the room in three strides and dropped to his knees in front of me.

“Ava? What’s wrong?”

Another pain ripped through me, sharper this time. I grabbed his arm, breathing hard.

“It hurts… something’s not right.”

Daddy’s expression hardened with fear and...