Then he saw the belly move.
It was minimal. A tremor that anyone with less love would have dismissed. Marcos blinked, swallowed, and waited. Silence filled his ears until it happened again.
A small movement. Weak. Alive.
“Stop!” he shouted. “Stop everything now!”
The employees tried to explain the possibilities to him. Muscle reaction. Gases. Post-death phenomena. Marcos heard words that sounded memorized and felt something inside him turn cold.
He leaned toward Ana Clara and called her name. There was no response. She didn’t open her eyes. She didn’t breathe. But inside her body was a child still fighting against everything the adults had decided for him.
“Call the ambulance!” Marcos shouted. “My son is alive!”
Chaos erupted immediately. Someone rushed toward the administration office. Another employee called emergency services. Ana Clara’s mother stood up crying, and Gustavo took a step forward before stopping with a rigidity that Marcos would never forget.
