The Impostor In My Delivery Room

The amniotic fluid had broken, the fetal position was abnormal, and the OB-GYN said an emergency C-section was the only way to save both mother and child.

The hospital needed a ten-thousand-dollar deposit before they would roll her into the operating room.

I pushed open the door to the prep room, pulled up my banking app, and held the QR code directly in front of my wife’s pale, sweat-drenched face.

"The kid belongs to both of us," I said, my voice completely devoid of warmth. "We split everything fifty-fifty. Transfer me five grand."