The Underwater Birth

The Underwater Birth
Tony's POV

The water was freezing cold as I dove through the window.
Isabella was screaming in pain, holding her stomach as another contraction hit her. The water was already up to her chest and rising fast.
"Tony!" she cried out. "The baby's coming now!"
I swam to her as fast as I could. Behind her, Antonio was trying to help my father Marco, who could barely stand because of the drugs.
"Isabella, we have to get out of here," I said, grabbing her hand.
"I can't move," she gasped. "The baby won't wait."
The ship was sinking faster now. We had maybe two minutes before this whole room was underwater.
"Antonio!" I yelled. "Can you get my father out through the window?"
"I'll try," Antonio said, pulling Marco toward the small window.
But Marco was too weak to climb. The drugs had made him sick and confused.
"Leave me," Marco whispered. "Save them."
"No," I said firmly. "We're all getting out of here."
That's when I heard something that gave me hope.
Knocking sounds from outside the ship.
"What's that?" Isabella asked through her pain.
I looked toward the sound and saw metal being cut away. Someone was making a bigger hole in the ship's wall.
"Alex!" I heard Sofia's voice from outside. "Is the cutting tool working?"
"Almost through!" Alex yelled back.
The resistance had come to rescue us with underwater cutting equipment.
A section of the wall fell away, creating a hole big enough for people to swim through.
But the water was pouring in even faster now.
"Isabella," I said, "when the next contraction is over, we're swimming out of here."
"Tony, I can't swim like this," she said desperately.
"You don't have to swim. I'll carry you."
Alex appeared at the hole wearing diving gear. He had extra air tanks for us.
"Everyone needs to get out now!" he yelled. "This ship is going to explode!"
"Explode?" I asked.
"Vincent Senior rigged it with bombs," Alex said. "He doesn't want to leave any evidence."
That monster was trying to kill all the witnesses to his crimes.
Alex threw me a breathing mask. "Put this on Isabella. We're going underwater."
But just as I was about to put the mask on Isabella, she screamed louder than ever before.
"The baby!" she said. "I can feel the head!"
The baby was being born right now, as water filled the room.
"Alex, help me get everyone else out," I said. "I'm staying with Isabella."
"Tony, you'll drown," Sofia's voice called from outside.
"Then we'll drown together," I said.
Alex grabbed Antonio and helped him swim through the hole. Antonio was trying to pull Marco with him.
"Take my father," I told them. "Get him to safety."
"What about you?" Antonio asked.
"We'll be right behind you," I lied.
The truth was, I didn't think we were going to make it. Isabella couldn't swim while giving birth, and I wasn't going to leave her.
Alex and Antonio disappeared through the hole with Marco. Now it was just Isabella and me as the water rose higher.
"Tony," Isabella said, grabbing my hand. "If something happens to me, promise you'll save the baby."
"Nothing's going to happen to you," I said.
But even as I said it, the water reached Isabella's neck.
"I have to push," she said. "The baby's coming."
"Can you hold your breath?" I asked.
"I'll try," she said.
The water went over our heads just as Isabella started pushing.
I put the breathing mask over Isabella's face and held my breath. Underwater, I could see Isabella's face twisted in pain as she delivered our baby.
The baby came out into the freezing water. A tiny, perfect little person.
But the baby wasn't moving.
I grabbed our child and swam toward the surface of the water in the room. But the room was completely flooded now.
I had to get the baby breathing, and I had to do it underwater.
I pressed on the baby's tiny chest, trying to get water out of the lungs. Nothing happened.
Isabella was panicking, trying to take the baby from me. But I could see she was running out of air.
I pushed Isabella toward the hole in the wall, signaling for her to swim out and get air.
She shook her head. She wouldn't leave without the baby.
I kept pressing on the baby's chest. Come on, I thought. Breathe.
My lungs were burning. I needed air soon or I would pass out.
That's when I saw a light coming from the hole. Someone was swimming toward us.
It was Sofia, wearing full diving gear.
She grabbed Isabella and pulled her toward the hole. I followed, still holding our baby and trying to do CPR underwater.
We swam through the hole and toward the surface. It felt like forever before we broke through the water into the night air.
"Is the baby breathing?" Sofia asked as soon as we reached the surface.
I looked down at our child. Still no movement. No crying. No breathing.
"Get to the boat!" Alex yelled. He was driving a speedboat toward us.
Sofia helped pull Isabella and me into the boat. Isabella was coughing up water but she was alive.
"Give me the baby," Isabella said desperately.
I handed our child to her. Isabella started doing mouth-to-mouth, breathing air into the tiny lungs.
"Come on, baby," she whispered between breaths. "Come on."
Behind us, Vincent Senior's ship exploded in a giant ball of fire. The blast was so loud it hurt my ears.
"Did everyone get out?" I asked Alex.
"Antonio and your father made it to the other boat," Alex said. "But Vincent Senior escaped in a helicopter."
I didn't care about Vincent Senior right now. All I cared about was the tiny person in Isabella's arms.
Isabella kept breathing into the baby's mouth. "Please," she begged. "Please breathe."
I took over the CPR, pressing gently on the baby's chest while Isabella gave rescue breaths.
"Is it working?" Sofia asked.
"I don't know," I said.
We kept trying as Alex drove the boat toward shore. Minutes passed, but our baby still wasn't responding.
"Tony," Isabella said, tears running down her face. "What if we're too late?"
"We're not too late," I said, even though I was scared too.
I pressed on the baby's chest again. "Come on, little one. Your mom and dad need you."
That's when I felt it. A tiny heartbeat under my fingers.
"Wait," I said. "I think..."
The baby's mouth opened slightly. Then came the most beautiful sound in the world.
A weak little cry.
"The baby's breathing!" Sofia shouted.
Isabella started crying with relief. "Thank God."
Our baby was alive.
"Is it a boy or girl?" Alex asked.
I looked closer. "It's a girl."
"A daughter," Isabella whispered, holding her close.
Our little girl was breathing, but she was still very weak. Her skin was pale and she was shivering from the cold water.
"We need to get her to a doctor fast," Sofia said.
"There's a medical boat waiting at the harbor," Alex said. "Hold on."
As we raced toward the harbor, I held Isabella and our daughter. We had survived Vincent Senior's trap. Our baby was alive.
But I could see something in Isabella's eyes that worried me.
"What's wrong?" I asked her quietly.
"Look at her breathing," Isabella whispered.
I looked down at our daughter. She was breathing, but it was very shallow and fast.
"Being born underwater damaged her lungs," Isabella said. "She needs help."
"She'll be okay," I said, trying to sound confident.
But as we reached the harbor, I could see medical people running toward us with equipment.
"What's the baby's condition?" a doctor asked as we climbed onto the dock.
"Born underwater," I said. "Not breathing for several minutes."
The doctor's face became serious. "We need to get her to the hospital immediately."
They put our daughter in a special medical transport. Isabella climbed in beside her.
"Tony, ride with us," Isabella said.
But as I was about to get into the ambulance, Sofia grabbed my arm.
"Tony, look," she said, pointing to the sky.
A helicopter was hovering above the harbor, shining a bright light down on us.
"Vincent Senior?" I asked.
"No," Sofia said grimly. "Look at the side of the helicopter."
I looked up and saw letters painted on the side: FBI.
"Sarah Chen," I realized.
The helicopter was landing on the pier, blocking our ambulance from leaving.
FBI agents jumped out and surrounded us, pointing guns at everyone.
"Nobody move!" Agent Sarah Chen yelled as she stepped out of the helicopter.
She walked over to the ambulance where Isabella was holding our daughter.
"Congratulations on your new baby," Sarah said with that evil smile. "Vincent Senior will be so pleased to meet his great-granddaughter."
"Stay away from my child," Isabella said fiercely.
"I'm afraid that's not possible," Sarah said. "You see, this baby is evidence."
"Evidence of what?" I demanded.
"Evidence that the Moretti and Russo families are united now," Sarah said. "Vincent Senior needs to control that union. And the best way to control parents is to control their children."
Sarah gestured to her agents. "Take the baby."
"No!" Isabella screamed.
I moved to protect them, but two agents grabbed me and held me back.
Sarah reached into the ambulance toward our daughter.
That's when the doctor did something unexpected. He injected something into Sarah's arm with a needle.
"What did you give me?" Sarah asked, looking confused.
"Truth serum," the doctor said, pulling off his mask.
It was Marcus. Our Marcus, not the resistance Marcus.
"Marcus!" Isabella said with relief. "How did you get here?"
"I've been following Vincent Senior's boats," Marcus said as Sarah collapsed from the drug. "I knew he would try something like this."
The FBI agents were confused without Sarah giving orders.
"Everyone in the ambulance!" Marcus yelled. "Now!"
We jumped into the ambulance with our daughter. Marcus started driving away from the pier as fast as he could.
"Where are we going?" I asked.
"Somewhere safe," Marcus said. "But first, we need to get this baby to a real hospital."
I looked down at our daughter in Isabella's arms. She was still breathing, but barely.
"Drive faster," Isabella said.
But as we raced through the city, I noticed something that made my blood freeze.
Our daughter's lips were turning blue.
"Marcus," I said urgently. "Something's wrong with the baby."
Isabella looked down and saw what I saw. "She's not getting enough oxygen."
"How much farther to the hospital?" I asked Marcus.
"Ten minutes," he said.
"She might not have ten minutes," Isabella said, her voice breaking.
I looked at our tiny daughter, fighting for every breath.
We had saved her from drowning.
We had saved her from Vincent Senior.
We had saved her from Sarah Chen.
But we might not be able to save her from the damage that had already been done.
And the most terrifying part was that even if we got her to the hospital, the doctors might not be able to help her either.
Our daughter was alive, but she was dying in Isabella's arms.
And there was nothing I could do to stop it.