- 10 hours ago
Delivery Room Betrayal Dramareel
Category
🎥
Short filmTranscript
00:02The surgical light burned into my eyes.
00:05I lay on the delivery table, listening to my own blood pouring out of me.
00:09Not an exaggeration.
00:10Eight years of medical school meant I recognized every signal of a blood pressure cliff dive.
00:16She's hemorrhaging.
00:17Where the hell is her husband?
00:18Isn't he supposed to be here?
00:19The attending's voice came from somewhere far away.
00:22I wanted to say that Dominic was a doctor, that something must have come up.
00:26But I couldn't speak.
00:27Then my phone lit up.
00:29Amber Thompson, his high school friend, the woman he trusted most in this world, had sent me a photo.
00:33A wedding photo.
00:35Hers and Dominic's.
00:36Thanks for lending me, Dominic, sis.
00:38Best day of our 18-year friendship.
00:40Don't worry, we won't actually sleep together.
00:43Promise.
00:44In the photo, Dominic was wearing the suit I'd had custom, made for him.
00:48His arm was around Amber's shoulder.
00:50They were both smiling at the camera.
00:52Their old high school crew stood around them.
00:54Grinning like this was the happiest day of their lives.
00:56My contraction monitor started screaming.
00:59A nurse glanced at my phone and went pale.
01:02BP 7080, she's losing blood fast.
01:04We can't reach the husband.
01:05Take her to the OR now.
01:08As they wheeled me away, my phone lit up again.
01:11Amber had sent another photo.
01:13A hotel lobby, all gold and crystal.
01:15With a massive flower arch.
01:17Dominic was fixing her veil.
01:19He said he owed me a ceremony.
01:21You don't mind?
01:22Do you, sis?
01:23I stared at the screen.
01:24The pain of the contractions and the pain in my chest blended together until I couldn't
01:28tell them apart.
01:29Dominic.
01:30My husband of seven years.
01:32The father of my child.
01:33He was playing groom for another woman.
01:35The moment the OR doors closed, I heard a nurse shout.
01:38Call him again!
01:39Keep calling until he picks up!
01:41I closed my eyes.
01:42My consciousness started to fray.
01:44Memories shattered like broken glass.
01:46The shards cutting everywhere.
01:48Seven years ago, on our wedding day, he was two hours late.
01:50He said the hospital had an emergency.
01:53I believed him.
01:55Five years ago, he said Amber had just gone through a breakup and needed him.
01:58He stayed with her for a week.
02:00Came back wearing a scarf she'd knitted him.
02:02A friendship scarf, he called it.
02:04I believed him.
02:05Three years ago, the day I got my medical license, Amber just happened to get into a
02:10minor car accident.
02:11He left my celebration dinner to go to the R with her.
02:14Didn't come back until morning.
02:16I still believed him.
02:17Because I loved him.
02:19Because I thought seven years together meant more than a so-called high school friend.
02:22Until this moment, I reached for my phone with everything I had left.
02:26Not to ask him to come.
02:27Not to confront him.
02:29I just wanted him to know I was dying.
02:31The mother of his child was dying.
02:33And he was playing groom for another woman.
02:36The message went out.
02:37Red, no reply.
02:38We've got blood.
02:40Starting transfusion.
02:43BP's still understable.
02:44Does anyone have consent from family?
02:45Forget consent.
02:46We're operating.
02:47I'll take responsibility.
02:48The attending's voice sounded like it was underwater.
02:51I dimly realized it was familiar.
02:53Then a face appeared in front of me.
02:55Samuel.
02:56My senior from medical school.
02:58Two years ahead of me.
02:59Known as the Ice King.
03:00In the lab, he'd made me cry three times.
03:03Jessica, listen to me.
03:05Your situation is critical.
03:07But my team and I are going to do everything we can.
03:10The only thing you have to do is stay alive.
03:13Your baby is in the NCU waiting for you.
03:15I couldn't move.
03:16But tears slid down my face.
03:17He wiped them away.
03:19Don't cry.
03:20You don't have the energy to waste.
03:22Then he turned and started giving orders.
03:24Fast.
03:24Precise.
03:25Like a scalpel for the first time.
03:26I thought maybe I wouldn't die.
03:28I don't know how long the surgery took.
03:30When I woke up, Samuel was standing beside my bed, checking my monitors.
03:34Your husband called three times.
03:35I answered for you.
03:37What did he say?
03:38He said...
03:39He said he couldn't get away.
03:41He booked a beachfront suite.
03:43He'll take you there when you're discharged.
03:45I waited.
03:46That's it?
03:46Oh.
03:47He also said to feed Amber's cat.
03:49She forgot to leave food out.
03:50I stared at the ceiling.
03:51Samuel.
03:52Yeah?
03:53Help me draft divorce papers.
03:55He looked at me.
03:56No surprise.
03:57No pity.
03:58Just the quiet calm of someone who'd been waiting for this.
04:01Okay.
04:01He said...
04:03The messages from Amber didn't stop during my hospital stay.
04:06They weren't accidents.
04:07I knew that.
04:09She sent photos of Dominic cutting her wedding cake.
04:11Of their high school crew drinking champagne.
04:13Of fireworks over the ocean at 3am.
04:1635 never looks so good when you've got your best friend by your side.
04:19I didn't reply to any of them.
04:21On the sixth day, she sent a message with an invitation attached.
04:24My first solo exhibition, sis, you have to come.
04:28The invitation read, birth.
04:30The truth and courage of the female body.
04:32I stared at the invitation.
04:34Something sank in my chest.
04:36I opened her social media.
04:38Pinned at the top was a preview.
04:40Three photos.
04:41All black and white silhouettes.
04:42Faces hidden.
04:43The caption read,
04:45To all the brave mothers out there, including my dearest sister.
04:48Below it, hundreds of comments.
04:50Amber's work is always so powerful.
04:53This is what real female art looks like.
04:54I didn't reply to the message.
04:56But I asked Samuel to look into it.
04:59Two days later, he came back with answers.
05:01That exhibition, he said, his voice flat.
05:03But I could hear the anger underneath.
05:05Is centered around your maternity photos.
05:07I stopped breathing.
05:08The ones Dominic took when you were 8 months pregnant.
05:11Amber turned them into a series called Raw Beauty.
05:13He paused.
05:14She didn't ask for your permission.
05:1612 photos.
05:18All blown up to 4 feet by 4 feet.
05:20Hanging in the center of the gallery.
05:22I sat down my water glass.
05:24The reception is Friday?
05:27Yeah.
05:30Get me an invitation.
05:32Samuel looked at me.
05:32You don't need an invitation.
05:34He said.
05:36You're the subject.
05:38You just show up.
05:40Friday night, 7pm.
05:41Lightbox Gallery, Chelsea.
05:43I wore a black trench coat.
05:44Pushed the stroller up to the entrance.
05:47Jason was asleep inside it.
05:48His tiny fists clenched.
05:50I handed him off to Samuel.
05:53He was waiting outside.
05:54The gallery was packed.
05:55Art world types.
05:57Media photography critics.
05:58Amber's old high school crew.
06:00All of them.
06:00A three-tiered champagne tower.
06:02Perfect lighting.
06:03Every photo matted and framed.
06:05Hanging on white walls.
06:06My photos.
06:0712 of them.
06:08Me at 8 months pregnant.
06:10Belly huge stretch marks like worms crawling across my skin.
06:13Some photos I was in lingerie.
06:15Some I was wrapped in sheer fabric.
06:16Some were taken while I was changing.
06:18Angles I never knew existed.
06:20Every photo blown up to life size.
06:22Every photo labeled with one word.
06:24Wrong.
06:25People stood with their champagne glasses.
06:27Pausing in front of my four-foot body.
06:29Commenting.
06:30Nodding.
06:30Power.
06:32Amber's vision is extraordinary.
06:34This is what real female art looks like.
06:36Amber stood beneath the largest photo.
06:38White suit.
06:40Champagne flute.
06:40Perfect smile.
06:42Her high school friends crowded around her.
06:44Phones out.
06:44Amber, this is incredible.
06:46This is going to put you on the map.
06:48Does your sister know?
06:49Is she going to be mad?
06:50Amber smiled.
06:51Her voice was light.
06:52But I heard every word from the entrance.
06:54She won't mind.
06:56She said it herself.
06:57These photos are beautiful.
06:59They shouldn't be hidden.
07:00I did say that.
07:02But I said it to Dominic.
07:03To my husband.
07:04When I trusted him enough to give him my most vulnerable self.
07:07I didn't say it to her.
07:08I didn't say it to everyone in this gallery.
07:11I pushed open the door and walked in.
07:14My coat caught a champagne glass at the entrance.
07:16It shattered on the floor.
07:17Everyone turned.
07:19Amber's smile froze when she saw me.
07:21Jess.
07:22What are you doing here?
07:23You just had the baby.
07:24I'm out of the hospital.
07:25I said.
07:26Her voice faltered.
07:27You got my invitation?
07:29I was going to...
07:31You were going to what?
07:33I walked toward her.
07:34You wanted me to come and play nice?
07:36Or you wanted me to stay away so your art could keep selling?
07:39The gallery went silent.
07:40Everyone with champagne.
07:41Everyone with phones.
07:42Everyone who had been nodding and commenting all staring.
07:45Amber's face went white for a second.
07:46Then recovered.
07:47Jess.
07:47Let me explain.
07:48She reached for me.
07:49Her voice suddenly loud.
07:50Like she wanted everyone to hear.
07:52This series is about the raw truth of the female body.
07:55I asked you back then and you said it was fine.
07:58Let me ask you something.
08:00Quiet but every word clear.
08:01The photos you took while I was changing.
08:04When did I say those were fine?
08:06She froze.
08:08Four of these 12 photos were taken without my knowledge.
08:13You had Dominic keep shooting while I was changing clothes.
08:15You think I didn't know?
08:17I turned to the crowd.
08:18You want to know how this art was made?
08:21The day I almost died giving birth, her photographer, my husband, was playing groom for another woman.
08:27While I was bleeding out on an operating table, she was sending me wedding photos.
08:32These photos were taken because I trusted my husband to document our child's arrival.
08:36I gave him my most vulnerable self.
08:38I didn't give it to her.
08:39I didn't give it to any of you.
08:41I turned back to Amber.
08:43You call this art?
08:44Her lips were trembling.
08:45She couldn't speak.
08:46Her high school friends looked at each other.
08:48A few started backing away.
08:50I pulled an envelope from my coat pocket and placed it in her hand.
08:53That's a cease and desist.
08:56You used my image without consent for commercial gain.
08:59Take down the exhibition.
09:01Apologize.
09:02Pay damages.
09:03I pulled out my phone.
09:05Opened a document.
09:06Held it up so everyone could see.
09:08It was a surrogacy contract.
09:09It was a surrogacy contract.
09:11Client, Dominic Harrison, surrogate.
09:14Amber Thompson, relationship.
09:16High school friends note.
09:17Embryo provided by client.
09:19Five prior attempts.
09:21Current pregnancy confirmed.
09:22This, I said.
09:24You signed a surrogacy contract with my husband.
09:26You started trying on our wedding day.
09:28Seven years.
09:29Five rounds.
09:30The gallery was dead silent.
09:32No champagne glasses clinking.
09:34No whispers.
09:35Amber's face went from white to gray.
09:37Dominic pushed through the crowd.
09:38His face was ashen.
09:39Jess, what are you doing here?
09:41I came to see the show.
09:42He opened his mouth.
09:43Nothing came out.
09:44I looked at them.
09:45Both of them.
09:46My husband.
09:47The woman I thought was my friend.
09:48Standing beneath my photos.
09:50The gallery lights on their faces.
09:52Caught like thieves at the scene.
09:53I pulled the divorce papers from my coat.
09:56Held them out to Dominic.
09:57I pulled the divorce papers from my coat.
09:59You keep nothing.
10:00The baby is mine.
10:01Child support according to the law.
10:03His hands were shaking as he looked down at the papers.
10:06Amber grabbed his sleeve.
10:07Her voice going sharp.
10:08Dominic, don't sign!
10:11Sign.
10:12He signed.
10:13He signed.
10:13I took the papers and turned to leave.
10:16I stopped in front of the largest photo.
10:18Four feet by four feet.
10:20My belly.
10:21My stretch marks.
10:22My body.
10:22Hanging on a wall like merchandise.
10:24I reached up and took it down.
10:26The frame was heavy.
10:27But I could carry it.
10:28No one stopped me.
10:29I carried my photo out of the gallery.
10:31Into the night.
10:32Samuel was leaning against the car.
10:34Jason was still asleep inside.
10:36He saw the frame in my hands.
10:37Didn't say anything.
10:38Just open the trunk.
10:40Done?
10:40He asked.
10:42Done.
10:43Get in.
10:44I put the frame in the trunk.
10:46Climbed into the back seat.
10:48Jason stirred in his car seat.
10:49Opened his eyes.
10:50Looked at me.
10:51And smiled.
10:51A gummy smile.
10:52Soft, simple.
10:54I smiled back.
10:55After the divorce, I took Jason and moved to the West Coast.
11:00Samuel found me a job obstetrics attending at a private hospital.
11:03Don't waste what you learned.
11:05He said.
11:06I didn't.
11:07As for Dominic and Amber, I thought the divorce closed that chapter.
11:10I was wrong.
11:11Amber disappeared from social media for two months.
11:14I thought she'd finally back down.
11:16Then she came back one post.
11:18New chapter.
11:19The photo was a marriage certificate.
11:21The groom wasn't Dominic.
11:22It was Warren Foster.
11:24Another member of their high school crew.
11:26Family money.
11:27The guy who gave us the biggest wedding gift.
11:29I stared at that photo for a long time.
11:32Amber was carrying Dominic's baby.
11:33But she married Warren.
11:35I called Samuel.
11:36He asked.
11:36You saw it?
11:37I saw it.
11:38Voice had an edge.
11:39There's more?
11:40Warren signed a prenup three days before the wedding.
11:42Amber takes half his asset.
11:44I was quiet for a moment.
11:46Does Dominic know?
11:48You tell me.
11:49I didn't know.
11:50But I guessed it wouldn't matter if he did.
11:52He'd never said no to Amber.
11:53Mom!
11:54I put down my phone and went back to me from Jason's bottle.
11:57This wasn't my problem anymore.
11:58But it didn't stay that way.
12:00Six months after the divorce.
12:02I got a text from an unknown number.
12:04Jessica.
12:05It is Warren.
12:06Can we talk?
12:06I hesitated.
12:07Then I called back.
12:09Warren's voice wasn't how I remembered it.
12:11Harder.
12:11Colder.
12:12I need a favor.
12:14What kind of favor?
12:16Amber's suing me for divorce.
12:18She hired the best lawyers in the city.
12:20They're coming for half my net worth.
12:22My lawyers say, if I can prove she married me under false pretenses, I have a case.
12:27What does that have to do with me?
12:29I need what you have.
12:30The surrogacy contract.
12:32The photos.
12:33The messages she sent you.
12:35I was quiet for a long time.
12:36You want to use them against her?
12:38I want to use them to protect what's mine.
12:41I'm not asking for charity.
12:43I'm offering a deal.
12:45You help me.
12:46I put her down for good.
12:47She never comes near you again.
12:50I'll think about it.
12:52I hung up and sat by the window.
12:54Watched Jason chase a butterfly in the yard.
12:57Samuel came out of the kitchen.
12:59Handed me a coffee.
13:01Warren called.
13:02How did you?
13:03Lucky guess.
13:05He sat next to me.
13:06He wants your evidence.
13:08Give it to him.
13:10You're not going to tell me to think it over?
13:12No.
13:13Samuel took a sip of coffee.
13:15People like Amber don't stop.
13:17You let her go, she comes back.
13:19Warren's got the resources and the motive.
13:21Let him do the work.
13:23I watched Jason catch the butterfly.
13:25He crouched down to look at it.
13:27Then he let it go.
13:28Okay.
13:30I said, yeah.
13:32I gave Warren's lawyers everything.
13:34The surrogacy contract.
13:36Every photo Amber sent.
13:37Every message.
13:38The exhibition invitation.
13:40The call logs.
13:41And the night I was hemorrhaging.
13:42Warren's team put it together in one thick file.
13:45Three months later, the case went to trial.
13:47Three months later, the case went to trial.
13:49I didn't go.
13:51Samuel did.
13:51He told me what happened.
13:52Warren's lawyer played a recording in court.
13:55Amber's voice came through.
13:56Sweet as honey.
13:57The way I knew too well.
13:58Dominic's baby is my baby.
14:01Warren's just a name on paper.
14:03It is not like he cares.
14:04He just wants the company anyway.
14:06The courtroom went quiet.
14:08Amber sat in the defendant's chair, white as paper.
14:10Dominic took the stand.
14:12The opposing lawyer took him apart piece by piece.
14:15Mr. Harrison.
14:16Where were you on the day your wife nearly died giving birth?
14:19At Amber Thompson's birthday party.
14:21Your wife was dying and you were at a party?
14:23He didn't answer.
14:24Mr. Harrison.
14:25Did your wife know about the surrogacy's contract with Amber Thompson?
14:29Did she?
14:32No.
14:33How many attempts did you make?
14:35Five.
14:37When did you start?
14:39On my wedding day.
14:41Someone in the courtroom gasped.
14:45The judge's expression didn't change.
14:47But Samuel, her voice was colder than usual.
14:49Warren won.
14:50Amber got nothing.
14:52She had to pay Warren damages for fraud.
14:54Dominic was suspended from the hospital pending investigation.
14:57He used his position to arrange private medical services.
15:00Their old friend Leo published a long post on social media.
15:03He called it,
15:04I thought we were friends.
15:05Amber played everyone.
15:06He wrote,
15:07Dominic was her accomplice.
15:08They used the group.
15:09One for money.
15:10One for biology.
15:11The post went viral.
15:12But that didn't undo the damage.
15:14What happened after was almost too dramatic to believe.
15:17Amber lost everything.
15:19Her marriage.
15:20Her reputation.
15:22Lightbox canceled her show permanently.
15:24She went to Dominic.
15:25But Dominic had nothing left to give.
15:26The hospital didn't fire him,
15:28but they sent him to a satellite clinic in the middle of nowhere.
15:30He spent six months there.
15:32Drank too much.
15:34Sent gifts for Jason.
15:36I sent them all back.
15:37When Jason was three,
15:39Dominic came back.
15:41He was thinner.
15:42I took Jason to the park.
15:44Let him watch from a distance.
15:47Jason was playing in the sandbox.
15:49He built a crooked castle,
15:50turned around,
15:51and yelled,
15:52Mom!
15:53Mom!
15:53Dominic stood 30 feet away,
15:55watching,
15:57crying.
15:57I didn't go to him.
15:59He left.
16:00A year later,
16:01Amber died in a car accident.
16:03She ran a red light.
16:04A truck hit her.
16:05She was alone in the...
16:06Samuel saw the news.
16:08He was quiet for a long time.
16:10What are you thinking?
16:15I'm thinking about Dominic.
16:19I waited.
16:21After the surrogacy news broke,
16:22the pregnancy didn't stick.
16:24All five rounds.
16:25Nothing.
16:26By the time Amber married Warren,
16:27she'd given up on the baby.
16:29Dominic ended up with nothing.
16:30The place was calm,
16:31like he was analyzing a case.
16:34No.
16:35You.
16:36No baby.
16:37No Amber.
16:39No friends.
16:42You feel sorry for him?
16:47No.
16:48I'm thinking about how a person
16:49can destroy their own life like that.
16:51I didn't say anything.
16:53Jason was stacking blocks on the floor,
16:55humming to himself.
16:56Mom,
16:57let's go high.
16:58That's high.
16:59I'm going higher.
17:01Okay.
17:02Samuel looked at me and smiled.
17:04He rarely smiled.
17:06The ice king who'd made interns
17:07cry in the oar.
17:09Who'd yelled at patients' families in the AR.
17:11Who'd pulled me back from the edge of death
17:13on a delivery table.
17:15But he smiled then.
17:17Jessica,
17:18have you ever thought-
17:20Thought what?
17:21Nothing.
17:22Forget it.
17:23When Jason was five,
17:25I got a letter from Dominic.
17:27Handwritten.
17:28Messy.
17:28He said he was working at a small clinic
17:30in a rural town.
17:32Didn't make much,
17:33but enough.
17:33He said he'd stop drinking.
17:35He said he sometimes dreamed about the day in the park,
17:37watching Jason play in the sand.
17:39He said he'd replayed that moment a hundred times,
17:42and every time he wanted to walk over,
17:44and every time he couldn't move his feet.
17:46I read the letter,
17:47put it on the table.
17:49Jason came over,
17:50picked it up,
17:51flipped through the pages.
17:52Mom,
17:53what's this?
17:55A letter from someone.
17:56What someone?
17:58You don't know him.
18:00Why is he writing to you?
18:02I thought for a second.
18:03Because he did something wrong.
18:05He wants to say sorry.
18:07Jason tilted his head.
18:09Did you forgive him?
18:11I was quiet for a moment.
18:13Not yet.
18:14When will you?
18:17Maybe never.
18:19Jason nodded like that made perfect sense.
18:22Then don't.
18:23Then he ran off to play with his dinosaurs.
18:26I watched him go.
18:27I remembered what the nurse said in the delivery room.
18:29Your baby is waiting for you in the NEQ.
18:32That was the only reason I fought to live.
18:35Now that reason was running around the house
18:37telling me not to forgive his father.
18:39That was a nutmeg.
18:41I put the letter in the drawer.
18:43Didn't reply.
18:44When Jason was seven,
18:46something happened.
18:47His school had an event.
18:48Parents were supposed to bring a family photo
18:50through the classroom wall.
18:52Jason came home and told me while I was cooking.
18:57Mom,
18:57we don't have a family photo.
18:59Yes, we do.
19:00We took one when you were little.
19:02That one has just you and me.
19:04The teacher said a family photo
19:05needs a mom and a dad.
19:07I turned off the stove,
19:08crouched down to look at him.
19:11Jason,
19:12your father.
19:13I know.
19:14He's not a good person.
19:16You don't have to explain.
19:17He looked at me,
19:18eyes clear.
19:20But what about Samuel?
19:21Does he count?
19:22I didn't know how to answer that.
19:25That night,
19:25after Jason fell asleep,
19:27I sat in the living room and thought,
19:29Samuel,
19:30he'd been there since the night I almost died.
19:33He'd drafted me for divorce papers.
19:35He'd investigated Amber's exhibition.
19:38He'd found me a job on the West Coast.
19:41He'd helped Jason get into a good school.
19:44Every birthday,
19:45he came with gifts and a cake,
19:47sitting beside Jason
19:48with his cold,
19:49unsmiling face
19:49while he blew out candles.
19:51He'd never said anything.
19:52I'd never asked.
19:54I wondered if we were both waiting
19:56for the right moment,
19:57for one of us to speak,
19:58for Jason to get a little older.
20:00For,
20:01for what,
20:02I didn't know.
20:03The turning point came sooner than I expected.
20:06Jason was eight.
20:07His school had career day.
20:09Parents were invited to come
20:10talk about their job.
20:11Samuel came.
20:15White coat,
20:16a model surgical setup.
20:17He demonstrated a heart surgery for the kids,
20:20fake, of course,
20:21with a pig heart
20:21and teaching tools.
20:23But Jason's eyes went wide.
20:25After the event,
20:27Jason held Samuel's hand
20:28and walked him around the schoolyard.
20:30Lap after lap,
20:31I stood at the gate and watched.
20:33The sun was setting.
20:34Their shadows stretched long.
20:36Jason said something I couldn't hear.
20:38Samuel bent down to listen.
20:41And then,
20:42he smiled.
20:45Not the polite,
20:46tight-lipped smile he used with patience.
20:49A real smile.
20:50His eyes crinkled,
20:51his whole face softened.
20:52Something in my chest cracked open.
20:55On the way home,
20:56Jason was in the back seat.
20:57He said,
20:58Mom,
20:59Samuel was happy today.
21:01How do you know?
21:03He smiled.
21:04He never smiles,
21:05but today he smiled a lot.
21:07I glanced at him in the rear view.
21:09Do you like Samuel?
21:10Of course.
21:12He's a million times better than that guy.
21:16What guy?
21:17The guy who wrote you that letter.
21:19That's who I bore you.
21:19That's what I'm seeing as good guy here.
Comments