{"id":17791,"date":"2026-09-23T15:37:27","date_gmt":"2026-09-23T15:37:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/?p=17791"},"modified":"2026-09-23T15:37:27","modified_gmt":"2026-09-23T15:37:27","slug":"part-26-the-second-carter-bennett-embryo-had-not-been-frozen-at-all-and-the-birth-record-hidden-under-carolines-private-code-led-us-to-a-young-man-who-already-knew-mercers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/?p=17791","title":{"rendered":"PART 26 \u2013 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"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Nobody told Grace she had another sibling.<\/p>\n<p>Not yet.<\/p>\n<p>We had learned something by then.<\/p>\n<p>Possibility was not fact.<\/p>\n<p>A file was not a person.<\/p>\n<p>A code was not a relationship.<\/p>\n<p>So Rebecca started with the record.<\/p>\n<p>The Black Creek embryo sheet listed three entries.<\/p>\n<p>CBEC-A.<\/p>\n<p>CBEC-B.<\/p>\n<p>CBEC-C.<\/p>\n<p>A failed before transfer.<\/p>\n<p>B became Grace.<\/p>\n<p>C supposedly entered cryogenic storage.<\/p>\n<p>There was no destruction record.<\/p>\n<p>No later transfer record.<\/p>\n<p>No current inventory.<\/p>\n<p>Just:<\/p>\n<p>STORAGE \u2014 EXTERNAL.<\/p>\n<p>Rebecca stared at it.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cExternal where?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The answer came from Caroline\u2019s private medical index.<\/p>\n<p>Federal investigators had finally decrypted a partition on her seized USB token.<\/p>\n<p>Most of it contained authorization templates.<\/p>\n<p>Some school surveillance reports.<\/p>\n<p>Some Black Creek transfer data.<\/p>\n<p>And one folder labeled:<\/p>\n<p>CONTINUITY EXCEPTIONS.<\/p>\n<p>Grace\u2019s embryo code appeared inside.<\/p>\n<p>So did CBEC-C.<\/p>\n<p>Status:<\/p>\n<p>TRANSFERRED \u2014 NO SUCCESSION DESIGNATION.<\/p>\n<p>Claire stared.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNo succession.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Rebecca nodded.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cMeaning Mercer did not recognize the resulting child as an heir.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhy?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cUnknown.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cBirth?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThere\u2019s a delivery code.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Grace was on speaker with Maya.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cMale or female?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Rebecca looked.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cMale.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Everyone went quiet.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat year?\u201d I asked.<\/p>\n<p>\u201c2009.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Claire closed her eyes.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cOur son.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The words came differently than daughter had.<\/p>\n<p>Not because they meant less.<\/p>\n<p>Because none of us knew where they belonged yet.<\/p>\n<p>Rebecca continued carefully.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAgain, if these records are accurate.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Grace whispered:<\/p>\n<p>\u201cMy brother.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Claire looked toward the phone.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou okay?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cSame.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The gestational carrier code was different.<\/p>\n<p>GC-31-14.<\/p>\n<p>Payment ledger:<\/p>\n<p>MONICA REYES.<\/p>\n<p>Investigators located her within a day.<\/p>\n<p>She had died in 2021.<\/p>\n<p>Her records were harder.<\/p>\n<p>But her estate contained old tax documents.<\/p>\n<p>One payment from Black Creek\u2019s shell company.<\/p>\n<p>Rebecca obtained the associated transfer paperwork.<\/p>\n<p>The intended-parent section had been deliberately blank.<\/p>\n<p>Delivery occurred at a small private hospital in New Hampshire.<\/p>\n<p>June 7, 2009.<\/p>\n<p>Male infant.<\/p>\n<p>Seven pounds, four ounces.<\/p>\n<p>Transferred eighteen hours later.<\/p>\n<p>Destination code:<\/p>\n<p>MERRITT.<\/p>\n<p>Grace said:<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThat sounds like a family.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>It was.<\/p>\n<p>Unlike Haven, Merritt was not a program.<\/p>\n<p>It was a surname.<\/p>\n<p>The adoption record listed:<\/p>\n<p>Jonathan and Elise Merritt.<\/p>\n<p>They had raised one son.<\/p>\n<p>No other children.<\/p>\n<p>The boy\u2019s name:<\/p>\n<p>Noah Merritt.<\/p>\n<p>Current age:<\/p>\n<p>Seventeen.<\/p>\n<p>Claire looked at Luca.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cMinor.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Rebecca nodded.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThat changes contact.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cObviously.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Grace asked, \u201cDoes he know he\u2019s adopted?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cUnknown.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cDo his parents know about Mercer?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cUnknown.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cDo we contact them?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Maya answered before Rebecca.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNot until investigators understand whether the adoption was lawful and whether disclosure creates risk.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Grace sighed.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI hate reasonable answers.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cSo do attorneys,\u201d Maya said.<\/p>\n<p>It took two days.<\/p>\n<p>Jonathan Merritt was a high-school history teacher.<\/p>\n<p>Elise managed a dental practice.<\/p>\n<p>No criminal records.<\/p>\n<p>No Mercer affiliations.<\/p>\n<p>Their adoption file had come through a private placement agency that closed in 2014.<\/p>\n<p>They believed Noah\u2019s biological parents were anonymous donors who had consented to placement.<\/p>\n<p>They had never heard of Claire.<\/p>\n<p>Me.<\/p>\n<p>Black Creek.<\/p>\n<p>Caroline.<\/p>\n<p>Or Mercer.<\/p>\n<p>When federal investigators contacted them, Jonathan initially thought it was fraud.<\/p>\n<p>Then they showed him the adoption document.<\/p>\n<p>The signatures for biological consent were fake.<\/p>\n<p>Same proxy identities used in Grace\u2019s file.<\/p>\n<p>Jonathan asked for a lawyer.<\/p>\n<p>Good.<\/p>\n<p>Elise asked one question.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIs our son being taken away?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The investigator said no one was seeking that.<\/p>\n<p>Claire cried when Rebecca told us.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cShe thinks we want him.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNo,\u201d I said.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI know.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cShe loves him.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI know.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>That helped.<\/p>\n<p>Noah\u2019s parents told him there was a legal issue with his adoption records.<\/p>\n<p>Not the entire story.<\/p>\n<p>Not yet.<\/p>\n<p>They asked whether he wanted independent DNA confirmation before learning anything further.<\/p>\n<p>He said yes.<\/p>\n<p>The test took four days.<\/p>\n<p>It confirmed biological parentage consistent with Claire and me.<\/p>\n<p>Noah Merritt was our biological son.<\/p>\n<p>Claire did not move when Rebecca said it.<\/p>\n<p>Then she stood.<\/p>\n<p>Walked into the kitchen.<\/p>\n<p>And gripped the counter.<\/p>\n<p>I followed.<\/p>\n<p>She whispered:<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHow many children do I have?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>I had no answer.<\/p>\n<p>Not because there were more records.<\/p>\n<p>Because the question meant something else.<\/p>\n<p>Luca.<\/p>\n<p>The child she had carried.<\/p>\n<p>Grace.<\/p>\n<p>The daughter created without her knowledge and raised elsewhere.<\/p>\n<p>Noah.<\/p>\n<p>The son created without consent and raised by parents who loved him.<\/p>\n<p>Biology said three.<\/p>\n<p>Life had given each relationship a different shape.<\/p>\n<p>I put my hand beside hers on the counter.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThree biological children.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>She shut her eyes.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAnd I\u2019m mother to one.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cFor now.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>She looked at me.<\/p>\n<p>I regretted the phrase instantly.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cFor now sounds like we\u2019re waiting to claim the others.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou\u2019re right.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat do we say?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI don\u2019t know.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Claire breathed slowly.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cLuca is our son.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cGrace is Grace.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNoah is Noah.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAnd they decide what relationship they want.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>She nodded.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cOkay.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>That became the rule.<\/p>\n<p>Jonathan and Elise asked for a meeting with Rebecca and Maya.<\/p>\n<p>Noah had his own appointed attorney because he was a minor.<\/p>\n<p>His name was Anthony Marks.<\/p>\n<p>Anthony was seventy percent patience and thirty percent suspicion.<\/p>\n<p>Exactly right for the job.<\/p>\n<p>Noah did not attend the first meeting.<\/p>\n<p>His parents did.<\/p>\n<p>It was by video.<\/p>\n<p>Jonathan looked exhausted.<\/p>\n<p>Elise looked angry.<\/p>\n<p>Not at us specifically.<\/p>\n<p>At everything.<\/p>\n<p>She spoke first.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe are not hiding this from him.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Claire nodded.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cGood.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cBut we will not drop seventeen years of criminal history on him in one afternoon.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cGood.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Elise seemed surprised.<\/p>\n<p>Claire continued.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou know him. We don\u2019t.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Elise\u2019s eyes filled.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe\u2019re not here to tell you how to parent him.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Jonathan looked at me.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat do you want?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The question was fair.<\/p>\n<p>I thought before answering.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cFor him to know the truth when he\u2019s ready.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAnd from us?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNothing.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou don\u2019t want contact?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI didn\u2019t say that.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Jonathan\u2019s jaw tightened.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThen what?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIf he wants it, eventually.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Elise looked at Claire.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAnd if he doesn\u2019t?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Claire\u2019s voice stayed steady.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThen he doesn\u2019t.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Jonathan looked unconvinced.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cPeople say that before emotions become real.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Claire nodded.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cMaybe.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>That surprised him.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI can\u2019t promise we won\u2019t feel things. I can promise we won\u2019t make him responsible for them.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Elise began crying.<\/p>\n<p>Quietly.<\/p>\n<p>Jonathan took her hand.<\/p>\n<p>Then he said something none of us expected.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHe knows the word Mercer.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Rebecca leaned forward.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Jonathan nodded.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhen investigators first called, we asked whether anyone had ever contacted Noah about adoption.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAnd?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cLast year.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Claire\u2019s face tightened.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWho?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHe said a man approached him after a school debate tournament.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>My stomach dropped.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat man?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHe didn\u2019t know.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat did he say?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Jonathan looked at the notes he had made.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHe asked whether Noah knew what Mercer meant.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Grace was listening remotely with Maya.<\/p>\n<p>She whispered:<\/p>\n<p>\u201cCharles.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Maybe.<\/p>\n<p>But Jonathan continued.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNoah said no. The man told him if anyone ever mentioned Black Creek, he should call a number.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Rebecca asked, \u201cDo you have the number?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>He read it.<\/p>\n<p>Grace gasped.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThat\u2019s not Charles.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Everyone stopped.<\/p>\n<p>Maya asked, \u201cYou know it?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhose?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Grace hesitated.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThomas.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>I closed my eyes.<\/p>\n<p>Of course.<\/p>\n<p>Rebecca called Thomas.<\/p>\n<p>He answered on the fourth ring.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHello?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>I said:<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou approached Noah Merritt.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Silence.<\/p>\n<p>Then:<\/p>\n<p>\u201cSo you found him.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Claire stood.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou knew.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHow long?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cFourteen months.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Grace laughed bitterly through the conference line.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cSame time you knew about me.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Thomas sighed.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Claire\u2019s voice hardened.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou found both of them.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAnd told neither of us.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat exactly were you doing?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cTrying to confirm whether Mercer had created more than one joint child.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWith teenagers.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI never told Noah who he was.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou told him Mercer.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhy?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cBecause Caroline was searching for him.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Rebecca leaned forward.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cEvidence?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Thomas said:<\/p>\n<p>\u201cShe accessed his school records.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Jonathan\u2019s face changed.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThrough an old medical credential.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Elise stood.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou knew someone was watching my son and you did not tell us?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Thomas\u2019s voice lowered.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI was afraid telling you would make you visible.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Jonathan stared at the screen.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou do understand that sentence makes me want to hit you.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Claire said:<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThomas, you don\u2019t get to use Michael\u2019s excuse forever.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>He went quiet.<\/p>\n<p>Grace added:<\/p>\n<p>\u201cOr Elena\u2019s.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Silence.<\/p>\n<p>Then Thomas said:<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>One word.<\/p>\n<p>Finally.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI should have told you.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Jonathan asked:<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhy give Noah your number?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cSo he had one person to call if Black Creek surfaced.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThat person being you.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou appointed yourself.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Elise shook her head.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI hate all of you.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Claire looked at her.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cReasonable.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Elise stared.<\/p>\n<p>Then laughed once despite herself.<\/p>\n<p>Thomas continued.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI found Noah because Caroline had a file labeled reserve.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Claire\u2019s face changed.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cReserve joint issue.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Rebecca looked at the Mercer records.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cGrace was 001. Luca was disputed. Noah had no succession designation.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cBecause Caroline deliberately hid him.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhy?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Thomas took a breath.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cBecause Grace belonged to the Haven faction.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAnd Noah?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cMedical faction.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Claire stopped.<\/p>\n<p>Caroline had not merely created two children.<\/p>\n<p>She had split them between networks.<\/p>\n<p>Grace hidden from Mercer.<\/p>\n<p>Noah hidden inside Black Creek\u2019s medical architecture.<\/p>\n<p>Rebecca asked:<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat was Noah intended for?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Thomas went silent.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAnswer.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cCompatibility.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Jonathan stood.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWith whom?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI don\u2019t know.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThat\u2019s not good enough.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Thomas continued.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cCaroline believed the joint-line genome could produce a universal custodian profile.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Rebecca frowned.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThat phrase is meaningless.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIn Mercer terms, it meant someone biologically connected enough to multiple founding lines to authenticate restricted records.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Grace whispered:<\/p>\n<p>\u201cA human key.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Thomas said:<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Claire went pale.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAnd Noah?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHis markers were stronger than Grace\u2019s for some legacy systems.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>I felt sick.<\/p>\n<p>Jonathan looked like he might break the screen.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cMy son is not a key.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNo,\u201d Thomas said.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cFor once, say something without sounding like you\u2019re correcting paperwork.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Thomas stopped.<\/p>\n<p>Jonathan continued.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHe is seventeen. He plays trumpet badly. He hates mushrooms. He wants to study political science even though I keep telling him that\u2019s not a career plan. He forgets every water bottle he owns.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Elise started crying.<\/p>\n<p>Jonathan\u2019s voice broke.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHe is not whatever word you people wrote next to him.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>No one spoke.<\/p>\n<p>Grace finally said:<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou\u2019re right.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Jonathan looked toward her window.<\/p>\n<p>Grace continued.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI spent two years thinking I had to understand what Mercer called me before I could understand myself.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>She shook her head.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt\u2019s backward.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Claire\u2019s eyes filled.<\/p>\n<p>Jonathan sat again.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThank you.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Two days later, Noah asked to join a limited call.<\/p>\n<p>Not with us.<\/p>\n<p>With Grace.<\/p>\n<p>Because she had gone first.<\/p>\n<p>She understood what it felt like to discover biology without surrendering family.<\/p>\n<p>Grace agreed.<\/p>\n<p>They spoke privately.<\/p>\n<p>Afterward, Grace called Claire.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHe\u2019s funny.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Claire smiled.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYeah?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAnd suspicious.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cGood.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHe said I sound like somebody who talks too much.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Claire laughed.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHe\u2019s right.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Grace ignored that.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHe doesn\u2019t want to meet you yet.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Claire swallowed.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cOkay.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHe wants to finish the school year first.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cOkay.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHe said maybe summer.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Claire closed her eyes.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cOkay.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Grace continued.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAnd he wants you to know Jonathan and Elise are his parents.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Claire\u2019s eyes filled.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI know.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHe needs to hear you say it eventually.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI will.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Grace paused.<\/p>\n<p>Then:<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHe asked what Mercer stands for.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Claire looked at me.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat did you tell him?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI told him it stands for adults being idiots with paperwork.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>I laughed.<\/p>\n<p>Claire smiled.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cGood answer.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Grace became quiet.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThen he told me something.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHe kept Thomas\u2019s number.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhy?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cBecause Thomas wasn\u2019t the only person who contacted him.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Claire\u2019s smile disappeared.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWho else?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNoah got a letter six months ago.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cFrom whom?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNo return address.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat did it say?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Grace\u2019s voice lowered.<\/p>\n<p>\u201c\u2018When the second son is born, your place changes.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Luca.<\/p>\n<p>I felt cold.<\/p>\n<p>Claire whispered:<\/p>\n<p>\u201cCharles?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Grace said:<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNoah kept the envelope.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Rebecca later examined it.<\/p>\n<p>The handwriting was not Charles\u2019s.<\/p>\n<p>Not Caroline\u2019s.<\/p>\n<p>Not Samuel\u2019s.<\/p>\n<p>Not Thomas\u2019s.<\/p>\n<p>But Adam recognized it from photographs of old Mercer records.<\/p>\n<p>He looked at the scanned letter.<\/p>\n<p>Then said:<\/p>\n<p>\u201cPeter.\u201d<\/p>\n<hr>\n<h2><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/?p=17792\">Click here to continue reading: PART 27: Peter Sloan Came Out of Hiding to Explain Why He Warned Noah About Luca, and His Last Secret Forced Adam to Decide Whether Blood Was Enough to Make Someone a Father<\/a><\/strong><\/h2>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Nobody told Grace she had another sibling. Not yet. We had learned something by then. Possibility was not fact. A file was not a person. A code was not a &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-17791","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\/17791","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=17791"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17791\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":17865,"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17791\/revisions\/17865"}],"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=17791"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=17791"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=17791"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}