It Hurts… Down There Too,” CEO Whispered — The Single Dad Pulled It Back… And Froze
In the cold October night, shards of broken glass bit mercilessly into Declan Foster’s knees as he crawled toward the mangled wreckage. Just fifty yards behind him, the warm glow from his daughter’s bedroom window offered a fragile beacon of safety and normalcy amidst the chaos. Blood pooled beneath the overturned sedan, dark rivers spreading across the earth, mixing with the sharp metallic scent of twisted steel, gasoline fumes, and a lingering trace of expensive perfume—a haunting reminder of the life now trapped inside.
Inside the wreckage, a woman lay pinned, her designer cream silk suit soaked in crimson from the waist down. Every breath she took was shallow and desperate, each one a fragile thread holding her tenuously to life. When her eyes met Declan’s through the shattered windshield, they held a raw, unfiltered fear—something deeper than pain. “Please,” she whispered, her voice fragile but urgent, “It hurts… down there, too.”
Declan’s hands froze mid-reach, hovering over the jagged steel beam that pinned her legs. Three years earlier, those same hands had made a split-second decision that ended a woman’s life on his operating table and shattered his career as a paramedic. Now, he faced the impossible choice again: pull back the metal and confront the unknown injury or do nothing and let history repeat itself.
He had been awake when the crash happened. Sleep had become a stranger after the hearing that stripped him of his paramedic license, a punishment for what the board called a critical error in judgment. Sitting at his kitchen table, staring at the overdue electricity bill, he had barely noticed the silence that followed the crash—the pregnant pause between impact and consequence, the moment when the universe holds its breath. Muscle memory took over. He was out the door before his mind could catch up.
The sedan had left the road, rolled twice or thrice, and come to rest on its side against an oak tree marking his property line. Steam hissed from the engine, and a lone headlight flickered, casting eerie shadows. Declan’s phone was in his hand, but he pocketed it. He knew the minutes an ambulance would take to arrive were more than this woman had.
The driver’s side door was crushed inward, the window frame bent impossibly, blocking any chance of extraction. Declan circled to the passenger side, now facing skyward, and climbed onto the hot undercarriage. The door resisted but gave way to his strength, revealing her clearly for the first time—mid-thirties, dark hair matted with blood, lips tinged blue from shock, yet eyes sharp, terrified, and lucid.
“My name is Declan,” he said, voice steady despite the chaos. “I’m going to help you. Can you tell me your name?”
“Belle,” she whispered, voice stronger than her injuries suggested. “Belle Hartwell. I can’t feel my legs… something’s wrong.”
Pinned from the waist down by a twisted center console and a jagged strip of metal pressed against her lower abdomen and thighs, Belle’s injuries were grave. If the metal had pierced her femoral artery or pelvis, moving it could kill her instantly. But leaving it meant slow, internal bleeding.
Declan’s hands trembled as he assessed her other injuries: a scalp wound, a broken arm with bone visible through silk, cracked ribs. But it was the lower body trauma that terrified him most. “I need to see where you’re hurt,” he explained carefully. “You have to understand what I’m about to do.”
Tears traced clean paths through the blood on Belle’s face. “I can feel it. It’s inside… please, just get me out.”
Three years ago, Declan had made a choice that cost Patricia Reeves her life. A severed artery had gone unnoticed beneath a superficial wound. The board had ruled it a fatal error, revoked his license, and erased his identity as a paramedic. Now, the ghost of that failure haunted him again.
“I’m not licensed anymore,” he confessed. “But I know what to do. You need to consent.”
Belle’s grip tightened on his shirt. “I don’t care about your license. You’re all I have. Help me or watch me die.”
Her words struck him harder than any blow. The weight of choice, the impossible burden of decision, pressed down on him. But he nodded. “Okay. I’ll call an ambulance. Then I’ll get you out. Stay with me.”
As he dialed 911, Belle told him about her life—CEO of Hartwell Industries, makers of surgical instruments. The irony was bitter: she crafted tools to save lives, and now she was dying in a ditch. Declan worked methodically, improvising a neck brace, applying direct pressure to wounds, using seat belts as makeshift bandages. Every movement was a battle against the trembling in his hands.
Suddenly, headlights appeared, but not from the town. A black SUV approached fast, no headlights on, slowing near the crash site. Declan’s gut twisted with dread. The men who emerged were no good Samaritans; they moved with cold precision. Belle gasped, “It wasn’t an accident. Someone hit me twice, forced me off the road.”
Three men advanced, their purpose deadly clear. Declan grabbed a tire iron wedged beneath the seat and stood between them and Belle. The men’s casual threat was met with his fierce resolve. A brutal fight ensued—Declan swung the tire iron, took a punch to the ribs, and fell to the ground. Then, Belle, despite her injuries, fought back with the jagged metal that had pinned her, buying Declan time to strike again.
The first man drew a gun, aiming not at Declan, but at Belle. Without hesitation, Declan threw himself forward. The shot rang out, and pain exploded through his shoulder. He hit the ground, dazed, but saw Belle raise the metal shard one last time before sirens cut through the night.
The men fled into the darkness, leaving two bleeding survivors and a scene that resembled a battlefield. Paramedics arrived, taking over care for Belle and tending to Declan’s gunshot wound. Detective Harper took statements, praising Declan’s courage. “You saved her life. And probably your daughter’s too.”
Back home, Declan checked on Harper, still sleeping peacefully, untouched by the night’s violence. Despite his injuries, he felt a flicker of something long lost—purpose. The weight of past mistakes remained, but tonight’s choices had shattered the paralysis that had gripped him for three years.
As dawn broke, Declan received a call from Belle, her voice weak but determined. She promised to fight for him as fiercely as he had fought for her. The promise was a lifeline, a spark of hope that redemption was possible.
Declan Foster, broken but unbowed, resolved to face the future without fear. He had made mistakes, but he would not let them define him. Belle Hartwell’s life was saved—not by luck, but by a man who chose to act when it mattered most. And maybe, just maybe, that choice would be the start of a new chapter for them both.
