{"id":17790,"date":"2026-09-23T15:37:24","date_gmt":"2026-09-23T15:37:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/?p=17790"},"modified":"2026-09-23T15:37:24","modified_gmt":"2026-09-23T15:37:24","slug":"part-25-grace-met-us-in-a-coffee-shop-with-michaels-photograph-between-us-but-the-question-she-asked-about-the-woman-who-carried-her-sent-rebecca-back-to-black-creek","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/?p=17790","title":{"rendered":"PART 25 \u2013 Grace Met Us in a Coffee Shop With Michael\u2019s Photograph Between Us, but the Question She Asked About the Woman Who Carried Her Sent Rebecca Back to Black Creek"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Saturday arrived too quickly.<\/p>\n<p>Then not quickly enough.<\/p>\n<p>Claire changed Luca\u2019s clothes three times.<\/p>\n<p>Not because anything was wrong with the first two outfits.<\/p>\n<p>Because her hands needed something to do.<\/p>\n<p>I did not mention that.<\/p>\n<p>I spent fifteen minutes looking for the photograph Grace had asked for.<\/p>\n<p>Michael asleep in the lawn chair.<\/p>\n<p>Mustard on his shirt.<\/p>\n<p>One sandal missing.<\/p>\n<p>His head tilted back so far his mouth was open.<\/p>\n<p>The picture was objectively terrible.<\/p>\n<p>It was also the first image of my father I had seen all week that did not look like evidence.<\/p>\n<p>Claire stood beside me when I found it.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThat one.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI know.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cPrint two.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhy?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cOne for Grace.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>I looked at her.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cShe may not want it.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThen we keep the second.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>So I printed two.<\/p>\n<p>We met at a coffee shop Grace chose forty minutes from the city.<\/p>\n<p>Public.<\/p>\n<p>Busy.<\/p>\n<p>Ordinary.<\/p>\n<p>Exactly what she had requested.<\/p>\n<p>Diane came with her.<\/p>\n<p>Maya too.<\/p>\n<p>Rebecca Sterling offered to come and was immediately told no by Grace.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNothing personal.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Rebecca had said, \u201cI\u2019m an attorney. I hear that constantly.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>So for once, nobody brought counsel to coffee.<\/p>\n<p>Grace was already there when we arrived.<\/p>\n<p>I recognized her instantly.<\/p>\n<p>Not because she looked exactly like Claire.<\/p>\n<p>She did not.<\/p>\n<p>Not because she looked exactly like me.<\/p>\n<p>She did not.<\/p>\n<p>But photographs flattened people.<\/p>\n<p>In person, there were things no file could explain.<\/p>\n<p>The way she pressed her lips together when she was nervous.<\/p>\n<p>Claire did that.<\/p>\n<p>The way she scanned the room before settling her attention.<\/p>\n<p>Michael did that.<\/p>\n<p>The way her left thumb rubbed the side of her index finger.<\/p>\n<p>I did that.<\/p>\n<p>None of it proved anything new.<\/p>\n<p>DNA already had enough to say.<\/p>\n<p>But the small habits hurt differently.<\/p>\n<p>Grace stood.<\/p>\n<p>Claire stopped walking.<\/p>\n<p>For one second, neither woman moved.<\/p>\n<p>Then Grace said:<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHi.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Claire laughed softly because apparently hi was too small and exactly right.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHi.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>I held Luca.<\/p>\n<p>He was asleep.<\/p>\n<p>Grace looked at him before she looked at me.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThat\u2019s him.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Claire nodded.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThat\u2019s Luca.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Grace smiled.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHe looks less potato now.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cMarginally.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Diane laughed.<\/p>\n<p>That saved all of us.<\/p>\n<p>Introductions followed.<\/p>\n<p>Diane hugged Claire only after asking.<\/p>\n<p>Claire said yes.<\/p>\n<p>Maya shook my hand and looked me directly in the eye in a way that communicated she was perfectly willing to end the meeting if Grace became uncomfortable.<\/p>\n<p>I liked her more.<\/p>\n<p>We sat.<\/p>\n<p>Nobody knew what to order.<\/p>\n<p>Grace finally said:<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThis is stupid.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat?\u201d I asked.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe\u2019re all pretending coffee matters.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Claire looked at the menu.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt matters a little.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Grace stared.<\/p>\n<p>Claire continued.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIf I cry, I\u2019d rather do it with something warm in my hands.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Grace nodded.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cFair.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>She ordered tea.<\/p>\n<p>Claire ordered decaf.<\/p>\n<p>I ordered coffee and immediately forgot to drink it.<\/p>\n<p>Diane ordered enough pastries for a minor emergency.<\/p>\n<p>For the first ten minutes, we talked about nothing.<\/p>\n<p>Grace\u2019s classes.<\/p>\n<p>She was studying environmental engineering.<\/p>\n<p>Claire laughed.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cEvan failed chemistry.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI did not fail.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou got a D.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cPassing.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Grace smiled.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI got a C-minus in organic chemistry.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>I pointed at her.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cSee?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Claire looked betrayed.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAlready forming alliances.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Grace laughed.<\/p>\n<p>The sound relaxed something in all of us.<\/p>\n<p>Luca woke.<\/p>\n<p>Grace looked toward him.<\/p>\n<p>Claire noticed.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cDo you want to hold him?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Grace froze.<\/p>\n<p>Then shook her head too quickly.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNot yet.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Claire nodded immediately.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cOkay.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>No disappointment.<\/p>\n<p>No persuasion.<\/p>\n<p>Grace watched her.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThanks.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cOf course.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>A few minutes later, I slid Michael\u2019s photograph across the table.<\/p>\n<p>Grace stared.<\/p>\n<p>Then laughed.<\/p>\n<p>Actually laughed.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cOh no.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>I smiled.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou asked for non-tragic.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHe looks ridiculous.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHe was.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Claire pointed at the mustard stain.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHe denied that was mustard.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Grace picked up the photograph carefully.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat did he say it was?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cBarbecue sauce.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt\u2019s yellow.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHe committed.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Grace kept looking.<\/p>\n<p>The laughter faded.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWas this before he knew?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>I knew what she meant.<\/p>\n<p>Before Mercer.<\/p>\n<p>Before her.<\/p>\n<p>Before Adam.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cProbably.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>She touched one corner of the print.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHe looks normal.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Claire answered:<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHe was normal.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Grace looked up.<\/p>\n<p>Claire continued.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAnd he did terrible things by keeping secrets.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Grace nodded.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cBoth can be true.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>That mattered.<\/p>\n<p>We did not need Michael to be a monster to understand the damage.<\/p>\n<p>We did not need him to be innocent to remember him loving us.<\/p>\n<p>Grace looked at me.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cDo you hate him?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAre you angry?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cDo you forgive him?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>I thought.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI don\u2019t know yet.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>She smiled faintly.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cGood.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhy good?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cBecause everyone keeps asking me whether I forgive Elena.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Claire looked at her.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat do you say?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThat I don\u2019t know what forgiveness is supposed to fix.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Nobody had a clever answer.<\/p>\n<p>Grace placed Michael\u2019s photograph beside her tea.<\/p>\n<p>Then she looked at Luca.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cCan I ask something?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAnything,\u201d Claire said.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAbout Black Creek.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Claire\u2019s expression changed.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cOkay.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Grace looked toward Diane.<\/p>\n<p>Diane nodded slightly.<\/p>\n<p>Grace continued.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cElena told me the woman who carried me was a gestational carrier.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cDo you know who she was?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Claire and I looked at each other.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNo,\u201d I said.<\/p>\n<p>Grace stared at the table.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI want to.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Claire nodded.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI understand.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI don\u2019t think she\u2019s my mother.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Claire did not flinch.<\/p>\n<p>Grace continued.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI know biology came from you two.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes,\u201d Claire said.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cBut she carried me for nine months.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cShe gave birth to me.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAnd everyone talks about her like she was equipment.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Claire\u2019s face changed.<\/p>\n<p>Grace looked up.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI want her name.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>I felt shame move through me.<\/p>\n<p>Not because we had hidden it.<\/p>\n<p>Because in the avalanche of everything else, we had barely asked.<\/p>\n<p>Claire said:<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou should have it.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Grace nodded.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI asked Elena.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat did she say?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThat Haven never knew.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Diane frowned.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThat doesn\u2019t mean Black Creek didn\u2019t.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Grace looked at me.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cExactly.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>I said, \u201cWe\u2019ll find out.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Grace\u2019s expression tightened.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou don\u2019t have to promise.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI know.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI mean it.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cSo do I.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Claire added:<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe\u2019ll ask. If records exist, we\u2019ll help find them. If they don\u2019t, we\u2019ll tell you that too.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Grace relaxed slightly.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThat\u2019s better.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Maya, who had been mostly silent, nodded.<\/p>\n<p>We spent almost two hours together.<\/p>\n<p>Grace eventually held Luca.<\/p>\n<p>She asked first.<\/p>\n<p>Then sat rigidly while Claire placed him in her arms.<\/p>\n<p>He opened his eyes.<\/p>\n<p>Stared at her.<\/p>\n<p>Then yawned.<\/p>\n<p>Grace looked horrified.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cDid I bore him?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThat\u2019s his whole personality,\u201d I said.<\/p>\n<p>Claire hit my arm.<\/p>\n<p>Grace smiled.<\/p>\n<p>She held him for three minutes.<\/p>\n<p>Then handed him back before anyone suggested she should continue.<\/p>\n<p>That mattered too.<\/p>\n<p>At the end, nobody hugged automatically.<\/p>\n<p>Grace hugged Diane.<\/p>\n<p>Then Maya.<\/p>\n<p>Then stood in front of Claire.<\/p>\n<p>They looked at each other.<\/p>\n<p>Grace lifted her arms slightly.<\/p>\n<p>Claire asked:<\/p>\n<p>\u201cSure?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Grace nodded.<\/p>\n<p>They hugged.<\/p>\n<p>Not long.<\/p>\n<p>Not cinematic.<\/p>\n<p>Just real.<\/p>\n<p>Then Grace looked at me.<\/p>\n<p>I waited.<\/p>\n<p>She said:<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI\u2019m not hugging you today.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cOkay.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou seem fine with that.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI am.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThat\u2019s weirdly reassuring.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cGood.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>She picked up Michael\u2019s photograph.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou sure I can keep this?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>She smiled.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cOkay.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Then she left.<\/p>\n<p>We watched her go with Diane and Maya.<\/p>\n<p>Claire sat back down.<\/p>\n<p>Did not cry.<\/p>\n<p>For almost thirty seconds.<\/p>\n<p>Then she did.<\/p>\n<p>I held her hand.<\/p>\n<p>Neither of us said whether the meeting had gone well.<\/p>\n<p>It had not been a test.<\/p>\n<p>That afternoon, Claire called Rebecca.<\/p>\n<p>Not to talk about Charles.<\/p>\n<p>Not Samuel.<\/p>\n<p>Not Mercer ownership.<\/p>\n<p>The gestational carrier.<\/p>\n<p>Rebecca listened.<\/p>\n<p>Then said:<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI should have asked already.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Claire closed her eyes.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cSo should we.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNo guilt competitions.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Claire almost smiled.<\/p>\n<p>Rebecca requested access through the federal investigative team.<\/p>\n<p>Black Creek records had been partially indexed by then.<\/p>\n<p>Most gestational carrier identifiers were coded.<\/p>\n<p>Grace\u2019s record listed:<\/p>\n<p>GC-29-07.<\/p>\n<p>Age twenty-nine.<\/p>\n<p>Transfer year 2008.<\/p>\n<p>No name in the primary file.<\/p>\n<p>But Black Creek kept compensation records separately.<\/p>\n<p>Rebecca found the payment ledger two days later.<\/p>\n<p>GC-29-07 had received four payments.<\/p>\n<p>Two before embryo transfer.<\/p>\n<p>One at twenty weeks.<\/p>\n<p>One after delivery.<\/p>\n<p>All paid through a shell account.<\/p>\n<p>Recipient name:<\/p>\n<p>JULIA MARTIN.<\/p>\n<p>Claire stared at the message.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIs that real?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Rebecca called.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe don\u2019t know.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAlive?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cPossibly.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cLocation?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI\u2019m working on it.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cDoes Grace know?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNot yet.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cTell Maya first.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Rebecca did.<\/p>\n<p>By that evening, investigators had identified three Julia Martins who fit the age range.<\/p>\n<p>Two were easily eliminated.<\/p>\n<p>The third had worked as a medical assistant near Black Creek in 2008.<\/p>\n<p>She moved to Maine in 2010.<\/p>\n<p>Current age:<\/p>\n<p>Forty-seven.<\/p>\n<p>No criminal history.<\/p>\n<p>No public connection to Mercer.<\/p>\n<p>Maya asked Grace what she wanted.<\/p>\n<p>Grace wanted confirmation before contact.<\/p>\n<p>So investigators compared legally available records.<\/p>\n<p>Then, with Julia\u2019s consent obtained through a neutral outreach request, DNA.<\/p>\n<p>The result returned five days later.<\/p>\n<p>Julia Martin had not contributed genetically to Grace.<\/p>\n<p>That was expected.<\/p>\n<p>But pregnancy records confirmed she had carried and delivered a female infant on December 19, 2008.<\/p>\n<p>Same weight.<\/p>\n<p>Same Black Creek physician.<\/p>\n<p>Same time.<\/p>\n<p>Grace\u2019s gestational carrier.<\/p>\n<p>Rebecca called us after telling Maya.<\/p>\n<p>Claire asked:<\/p>\n<p>\u201cDoes Julia know who Grace is?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNot yet.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cDoes she know the pregnancy was connected to fraud?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cShe says she was told the intended parents were unable to carry.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Claire closed her eyes.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cShe thought she was helping a couple.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cDid she meet us?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cKnow our names?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat did she think happened to the baby?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThat the intended parents took custody.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Grace decided she wanted to speak with Julia.<\/p>\n<p>Not immediately.<\/p>\n<p>First, she sent a letter through Maya.<\/p>\n<p>Three paragraphs.<\/p>\n<p>No accusation.<\/p>\n<p>No demand.<\/p>\n<p>Just:<\/p>\n<p>My name is Grace. I believe you carried me in 2008. I am trying to understand how I came into the world. I do not believe you caused what happened to me. If you are willing to speak, I would like that. If you are not, I will respect it.<\/p>\n<p>Julia replied the next morning.<\/p>\n<p>Yes.<\/p>\n<p>Grace called us after receiving the answer.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cShe wants to talk.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Claire smiled.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHow do you feel?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cSick.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cReasonable.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cShe said she kept something.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI don\u2019t know.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Grace sounded nervous.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cShe wants to show me herself.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>They arranged a video call.<\/p>\n<p>Maya attended.<\/p>\n<p>Diane sat with Grace.<\/p>\n<p>Claire and I were not there.<\/p>\n<p>Again, that was Grace\u2019s conversation.<\/p>\n<p>Afterward, she called us.<\/p>\n<p>Her voice sounded strange.<\/p>\n<p>Not upset.<\/p>\n<p>Not happy.<\/p>\n<p>Full.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cShe remembered me.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Claire\u2019s eyes filled.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat do you mean?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cShe remembered the delivery.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat happened?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Grace took a breath.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cJulia said Black Creek told her I would go directly to my parents.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Claire closed her eyes.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cShe never saw us.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat did she keep?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Grace was silent for a moment.<\/p>\n<p>Then:<\/p>\n<p>\u201cA hospital bracelet.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>I stopped.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYours?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHow?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cShe said a nurse removed it before the transfer van came. It fell under the bassinet.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Claire covered her mouth.<\/p>\n<p>Grace continued.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cJulia picked it up.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat does it say?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cBaby Girl 1208.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>No name.<\/p>\n<p>No parents.<\/p>\n<p>Just a code.<\/p>\n<p>Grace laughed softly.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt\u2019s ugly.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Claire started crying.<\/p>\n<p>Grace continued.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cJulia said she kept it because something felt wrong.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cShe asked to meet the parents.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAnd?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cCaroline told her there had been an emergency.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Of course.<\/p>\n<p>Grace\u2019s voice hardened.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cShe lied even then.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cJulia said she tried calling Black Creek afterward. Nobody returned her calls.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Claire whispered, \u201cI\u2019m sorry.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Grace exhaled.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cShe said the same thing.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>They had cried together.<\/p>\n<p>Two women connected by a pregnancy neither fully understood at the time.<\/p>\n<p>Grace asked Julia one question before ending.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cDid you want to keep me?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Julia said no.<\/p>\n<p>Grace told us that without flinching.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cShe said she was a carrier. She wanted me to go to the people who were waiting for me.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Claire\u2019s face tightened.<\/p>\n<p>Grace continued:<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAnd that helped.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>I understood.<\/p>\n<p>Julia did not need to secretly be another mother.<\/p>\n<p>She did not need to rewrite the past into destiny.<\/p>\n<p>She had carried Grace.<\/p>\n<p>She cared whether Grace was safe.<\/p>\n<p>That was enough.<\/p>\n<p>Before we ended the call, Grace said:<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThere\u2019s one more thing.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Claire looked at me.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cJulia remembers another woman at Black Creek.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWho?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cShe doesn\u2019t know.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat about her?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cShe was pregnant too.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>That alone meant little.<\/p>\n<p>Black Creek had handled multiple transfers.<\/p>\n<p>Grace continued.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cJulia says the woman kept asking why nobody would tell her whose embryo she was carrying.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Rebecca, who had joined our call by then, went still.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYear?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201c2008.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cMonth?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cSame pregnancy window.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Rebecca opened the old embryo record.<\/p>\n<p>Three embryos.<\/p>\n<p>One became Grace.<\/p>\n<p>One failed.<\/p>\n<p>One supposedly remained frozen.<\/p>\n<p>Claire stared.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe second embryo.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Rebecca nodded.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIf the cryopreservation record was false.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Grace said quietly:<\/p>\n<p>\u201cJulia thinks there may have been another baby.\u201d<\/p>\n<hr>\n<h2><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/?p=17791\">Click here to continue reading: PART 26: The Second Carter-Bennett Embryo Had Not Been Frozen at All, and the Birth Record Hidden Under Caroline\u2019s Private Code Led Us to a Young Man Who Already Knew Mercer\u2019s Name<\/a><\/strong><\/h2>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Saturday arrived too quickly. Then not quickly enough. Claire changed Luca\u2019s clothes three times. Not because anything was wrong with the first two outfits. Because her hands needed something to &hellip; <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":17765,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-17790","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-insightdrama"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17790","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=17790"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17790\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":17864,"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17790\/revisions\/17864"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/17765"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=17790"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=17790"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=17790"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}