— Any news on the investigation? — Yenedith asks.
— I was able to identify two of the three people who were at my house that day, and one of them was William — Gem says.
— I'm so sorry, sweetie — Yenedith says, rushing to hug her, but Gem holds her arm out and turns her face away — I'm sorry.
— No, it's just that I feel dizzy.
— Have you had breakfast yet?
— I haven't been able to eat anything; I could barely manage a piece of toast this morning. Maybe it's the stress.
— Have you been throwing up? We have to go to the doctor, Gem; this is serious — says Yenedith, trying to bite her tongue.
— It's not an emergency. They won't receive me unless I'm dying.
— Oh, come on, how come they won't?
— Let's go eat, I'll feel better.
— Okay, but you have to make an appointment — says Yenedith. She subtly glances at her friend's abdomen. An abdomen that still looks quite normal and flat under her clothes. — Why didn't you tell her sooner? She's going to get really upset, and it'll be even worse if she sees me. She already thinks I'm a bad influence — says Yenedith as the waiter serves the food.
— Just wait for me in the dining room; I'll talk to her, and then we'll leave.
— Okay, let me text Charles first so he can pick us up.
After having breakfast at a café, Gem and Yenedith head to Celeste's house, where she welcomes them. — What did they say at the police station?
— As if you care, Mom —Gem replies.
— Please, honey, I didn't know what happened to you; everything was up in the air until you woke up — says Celeste — The police never contacted us; they just went straight to you because you're an adult now.
— I'm not going to argue with you anymore, Mom. I don't care anymore if you won't tell me the truth or if you're not capable of apologizing for making me feel guilty. Tell Dad when he gets home from work that I'm at Mr. Singer's house — says Gem.
— What are you talking about, Gem? — asks the woman, following her daughter into the bedroom where she sees her packing her clothes into a bag. — You're not going anywhere. You have to stay with us, your family who's looking out for you!
— No, Mom, that's it, I wanna leave here! — Gem shouts, interrupting her mother's attempts to put the clothes back in the closet. — I'm not going to live with you so you don't have to worry about me anymore!
Celeste grabs her daughter by the shoulders and pushes her to the floor, causing a loud crash that alerts Yenedith. The young woman decides to go to the bedroom, walking down the hallway next to the kitchen, where she sees Mrs. Celeste holding her daughter by the shoulders to keep her on the floor. — You'll get lost on the street; you'll end up homeless. You have to stay under our care! — Celeste yells at her.
— Mom, enough already, let me go! — Gem screams, struggling with her friend's help until she manages to break free.
— This is all your fault! — Celeste accuses, slapping Yenedith across the face.
— Mom, what's wrong with you!
— No one is leaving here! We're going to wait for your dad to get here, and then we'll talk.
— No, I'm leaving — says Gem. She packs most of her underwear after gathering it with both hands from the drawer and zips up her bag. Gem puts on the bag she left with that morning, which contains her wallet and cell phone, and then heads for the bedroom door. — Excuse me, Mom.
— No.
— Ma'am, please. I understand you're worried, but you're making everything worse. You're both very angry right now, and it's better if you give each other some space so you can make up later — says Yenedith.
Both wait a few seconds for Celeste to step away from the door, but she remains frozen in place, looking to the side to avoid her daughter's furious gaze. That's when Gem decides to push her aside and rush out of the room with her friend. Yenedith takes a couple of steps forward to open the door. — Are you ready? — Charles asks as soon as he sees her.
— Yenedith, call the police, help me! — Gem screams. Yenedith turns her head to see Mrs. Celeste dragging her daughter by the neck and with part of her chest wrapped in a sheet.
— Help me, she's out of control, she needs help! — Celeste shouts, holding her daughter against her lap, kneeling on the floor, unable to gauge the force she's exerting on her neck at that moment.
Yenedith stands frozen, seeing the vacant look in Gem's eyes as her hands struggle to break free from the grip around her neck. Charles enters the house and draws his gun, aiming it at the woman. — Let her go right now! — he orders.
Celeste screams and covers her face with her hands, looking down, which allows Gem to free herself from the sheet more easily. Yenedith approaches her friend to help her up. — Let's get out of here! — she says.
Charles puts away his gun and walks them to the door. Gem suddenly bends over sharply as they descend the front stairs. — It's okay, it's over — Yenedith whispers to calm her sobbing.
— It hurts, it hurts! — Gem whimpers, barely lifting her face and holding her hand to her lower abdomen.
Yenedith looks at Charles for a couple of seconds. — Can you walk? — he asks. At that, Gem tries to take a step, which only makes her cry intensely. The bodyguard doesn't hesitate to pick her up at that precise moment and place her inside the vehicle. Yenedith gets into the back seat, where she hugs her, and they head to the nearest hospital.
Yenedith rushes to the emergency room entrance to request a wheelchair and medical assistance. The security guard at the door helps her get one just as Charles arrives, and the woman at the reception desk quickly processes their admission so that Gem can be treated as soon as possible.
After a few minutes, a woman approaches. — Good afternoon. Miss Gem Goldstein?
— Here — she says, raising her hand.
The woman in a nurse's uniform approaches to push her chair. — Let's see what's wrong.
— Can they come with me? — Gem asks. — My abdomen hurts too much.
— She can't walk more than two steps — Yenedith says.
— Only one person can accompany her at a time — the nurse says.
Yenedith glances at Charles as she recalls how easily he lifted her, but Gem calls out her friend's name. - I'll be right back - says Yenedith, and gives him a quick kiss on the lips.
Once in the room, they both help Gem carefully onto the stretcher and then head to another room where there's an ultrasound machine. — Good afternoon, I'm Dr. Rocío. How are you, Gem?
— Good afternoon — says Yenedith.
— Good afternoon. My abdomen hurts so much — says Gem.
— I see you have blood on your clothes. Are you menstruating? — asks the doctor.
— Um… no, I think so? — she says.
— Do you remember when your last period was? — Rocío asks as she feels Gem's abdomen with her fingertips.
— No, I was in the hospital until a couple of weeks ago. I was in a coma — says Gem — I'd like you to call my family doctor, Mauricio Fajardo. He has my medical records. It might be relevant.
— Of course, but first we need to do an ultrasound to see if there's anything wrong with your ovaries or uterus — says the doctor as she puts on a pair of latex gloves. — Please unbutton your shorts and pull them down so I can apply the gel to your abdomen.
— Okay.
A few seconds later, the doctor applies the gel to the young woman's abdomen and begins to view the inside of her abdomen on the screen. She easily identifies the ovaries and the uterus, where a white figure can be distinguished. — What is that? — asks Gem, horrified, as she clearly sees a fetus on the screen.
— Why didn't you say you were pregnant? — the doctor asks with a fleeting smile.
— No, you must have someone else's video there. That can't be… I'm not pregnant — says Gem. She feels Yenedith's hand on her arm and notices the look of commotion in her eyes — No, not this… this can't be! — says Gem, and she begins to cry.
— Can you give us a moment, please? — asks Yenedith, holding her friend close to her chest to comfort her.