The sliding doors of Riverside General Hospital in Columbus burst open just after midnight. The smell of rain and asphalt followed a small figure inside—a pale, trembling girl no older than thirteen.

Dr. Helen Moore looked up from her chart, bone-tired after a fourteen-hour shift. “Someone help her!” a nurse shouted. The girl was clutching her stomach, her face contorted in pain, her eyes glassy with fear.

Helen rushed forward. “Sweetheart, it’s okay. You’re safe now.”

The girl’s lips quivered. “Please… it hurts. So bad.”

They guided her into a wheelchair and rolled her into an exam room. Her sweatshirt was soaked, her hair tangled and wet from the rain. Helen knelt beside her. “What’s your name, honey?”

“Alice. Alice Bennett.”

“Alright, Alice,” Helen said softly. “We’ll take care of you. You’re not alone, okay?”

As the nurses worked, Helen kept her tone calm. “Can you tell me what happened? Did you eat something that made you sick?”

Alice hesitated, her fingers twisting the hem of her sleeve. “No… I just didn’t feel good. For weeks.”

Helen frowned. The symptoms didn’t make sense. Alice’s pulse was too fast, her abdomen too swollen for food poisoning or a stomach bug. Something inside Helen’s chest began to tighten.

“I’m going to do a quick ultrasound,” Helen said gently.

Alice’s eyes widened in alarm. “Do we have to?”

“Yes, sweetheart. It’ll help me understand what’s going on.”

Minutes later, the machine hummed softly. The black-and-white image appeared on the screen—and the room fell silent.

Helen’s stomach dropped. There, unmistakably, was a small fetus—about sixteen weeks along.

She turned to the girl, her voice breaking into a whisper. “Alice… you’re pregnant.”

Alice’s face crumpled. Tears streamed down her cheeks. “Please… please don’t tell my mom. She’ll hate me.”

Helen’s hand trembled slightly, but her tone remained firm. “Alice, you’re only thirteen. I need to know what happened. Who’s the father?”

Alice bit her lip until it bled. Her voice came out barely audible. “It’s… Mark.”

Helen frowned. “Who’s Mark?”

Alice closed her eyes. “My mom’s boyfriend.”

The room went cold.