A heavily pregnant taxi driver offers a homeless and injured stranger a free ride to the hospital on a rainy night. The following morning, she wakes up to find a parade of SUVs parked outside her home. Suited men knock on her door, revealing a truth that will forever change her life.
After two years behind the wheel, Cleo had encountered every kind of passenger imaginable: the 3 a.m. partygoers struggling to stay upright, families rushing to catch early flights, and guilt-ridden businessmen reeking of cocktails and poor decisions. She had listened to countless stories, comforted more than a few tearful riders, and developed an uncanny ability to read people before they even opened her cab door.
On that foggy November night, the yellow cab’s headlights sliced through the haze as Cleo navigated the quiet downtown streets.
Her back ached, and the baby inside her seemed intent on practicing gymnastics against her ribs. At eight months pregnant, working night shifts was becoming increasingly grueling. But bills wouldn’t pay themselves.
“Just a few more hours, my love,” she murmured, placing a hand on her swollen belly. “Then we can go home to Chester.”
The baby responded with a firm kick, bringing a faint smile to her lips despite her exhaustion. At home, Chester—her orange tabby—was likely stretched across her pillow, leaving trails of orange fur behind. These days, Chester was the closest thing Cleo had to family.
The thought of home tugged at her emotions, stirring memories she wished she could forget. Five months earlier, she had bounded up those very same apartment stairs, her heart brimming with anticipation.
She had planned everything perfectly—Mark’s favorite lasagna, candles glowing softly on the table, and a tiny pair of baby shoes wrapped in shiny silver paper.
“We’re having a baby, honey!” she had said, sliding the gift across the table.
Mark stared at the shoes, his face turning pale. The silence stretched unbearably.
“Say something,” she urged.
“I can’t do this, Cleo,” he finally admitted.
“What do you mean, you can’t?”
“Jessica’s pregnant too. She’s three months along—with my child.”
The candles burned low as Cleo’s world fell apart. Jessica. His secretary. The woman he’d sworn was “just a friend.”
“How long have you been cheating on me?”
“Does it matter?”
It didn’t. Within a week, Mark was gone. Within two, he had drained their joint bank account. At 32, Cleo now worked double shifts, scraping together savings for when the baby arrived.
“Your father may have abandoned us,” she whispered to her bump, swallowing her tears, “but we’ll make it. I promise you that.”
The memory faded as Cleo refocused on the road. That night, three weeks before her due date, with swollen ankles and a maternity uniform straining against her belly, she encountered something that would change everything.
The clock read 11:43 p.m. when she spotted him—a lone figure limping along the highway shoulder.
Emerging from the shadows under dim streetlamps and drizzle, the man appeared like a ghost on 42nd Street. Even from a distance, something about him made Cleo’s pulse quicken.
His clothes hung in filthy rags, and rain matted his dark hair to his face. One arm was clutched tightly to his chest, and he dragged a leg with each step.
Cleo’s hand instinctively moved to her belly as she observed him through the windshield. She should have been home already, curled up with Chester purring against her stomach, serenading the baby to sleep.
But something about this man’s desperate, wavering steps held her in place. Her grip tightened on the steering wheel instead of driving away.
During her years as a night-shift taxi driver, Cleo had learned to spot trouble, and everything about this screamed danger.
As he stumbled closer, she could see he was a young man, likely in his mid-20s. His once-expensive clothes were stained and torn. Blood seeped through the sleeve of his right arm, and his face bore bruises and swelling, one eye nearly shut.
A car engine roared behind her, and the man’s head whipped around, panic flashing in his expression. He tried to run but nearly collapsed.
“Don’t do it, Cleo,” she whispered to herself. “Not tonight. Not when you’re eight months pregnant.”
But her hands were already turning the wheel as she pulled over.
Rolling the window down just enough, she called out, “Are you okay? Do you need help?”
The man flinched, his wide eyes locking onto hers. A dark crimson streak of sweat and blood trickled from a cut on his brow.
“I just need to get somewhere safe,” he gasped.
The pursuing car’s engine grew louder, its headlights glaring in her mirrors.
“Get in!” Cleo said, unlocking the doors. “I’ll take you to the hospital.”
He hesitated, then climbed into the backseat and collapsed as Cleo hit the gas. The car behind them accelerated.
“They’re still chasing me,” he muttered, ducking down. “Thank you… most people wouldn’t stop.”
Cleo’s heart pounded in her chest. “Hold on.”
She turned sharply, weaving through side streets she knew well. The car behind them kept pace.
“Who are they?” she demanded, veering onto another road.
“Faster… please. They’ll catch us,” he stammered.
When a second set of headlights appeared ahead, Cleo realized they were being boxed in.
“Do you trust me?” she asked abruptly.
“What?”
Before he could object, she veered into an abandoned parking lot, slipping beneath a partially lowered gate. The pursuing cars couldn’t follow; the gap was barely wide enough for her taxi.
“Two years of dodging drunk passengers who didn’t want to pay,” she explained, checking her mirrors. No headlights followed. “Never thought those skills would save a life.”
The baby kicked hard, and Cleo winced.
“You’re pregnant,” the stranger noticed, guilt flashing in his good eye. “I’ve put you both in danger.”
“Sometimes doing nothing is the bigger risk,” she said, meeting his gaze in the mirror. “I’m Cleo.”
“Thank you, Cleo,” he said sincerely. “Most people would’ve ignored me.”
She finally reached the hospital. As he stepped out, he turned to her, studying her face.
“Why did you stop?”
Cleo paused, considering her answer. “Because I don’t want to live in a world where people ignore someone in need. I won’t be that person.”
That night, Cleo went home, fed Chester, and tried to sleep.
The next morning, she awoke to a rumble outside—dozens of black SUVs lining her street. Men in suits surrounded her house, and among them was the man from the night before, now unrecognizable in an impeccable suit.
What Cleo learned that day would change her life forever.
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