Rachel was sitting upright when I returned.<\/p>\n
That was the first thing I noticed.<\/p>\n
Not the monitors.<\/p>\n
Not Grace standing beside the bed.<\/p>\n
Not the three physicians gathered around a tablet.<\/p>\n
Rachel.<\/p>\n
Awake.<\/p>\n
Angry.<\/p>\n
Alive.<\/p>\n
She looked at my face.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou found it.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cSamuel\u2019s notebook.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBad?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cUseful?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cTypical.\u201d<\/p>\n
I sat beside her.<\/p>\n
She reached for my hand.<\/p>\n
I gave it.<\/p>\n
Grace watched the gesture.<\/p>\n
So did Leah from the doorway.<\/p>\n
Emily had come back with us.<\/p>\n
She remained farther out, still learning how close she wanted to stand.<\/p>\n
The independent medical team introduced themselves.<\/p>\n
Dr. Helen Brooks, maternal-fetal medicine.<\/p>\n
Dr. Samir Chen, oncology.<\/p>\n
Dr. Alina Reyes, medical genetics.<\/p>\n
None had documented professional ties to Harlan, Mercy\u2019s old research network, Voss Biotech, Douglas Mercer, or the Vale foundations.<\/p>\n
Ortiz\u2019s team checked twice.<\/p>\n
Rachel listened to every credential.<\/p>\n
Then said, \u201cTell me the facts.\u201d<\/p>\n
Dr. Chen began.<\/p>\n
\u201cYour cancer has shown partial biochemical improvement during the last several weeks.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause of the pregnancy?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cPossibly.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cPossibly means?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWe see correlation, not proof of cause.\u201d<\/p>\n
Rachel nodded.<\/p>\n
Good.<\/p>\n
No one pretending certainty.<\/p>\n
Dr. Reyes continued.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe fetus expresses synthetic repair factors that appear in your circulation.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cFrom the genetic editing.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAre those helping me?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThey may contribute.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cMay.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cCould they hurt me?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHow?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cImmune reaction. altered tumor behavior. unpredictable effects when expression declines.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDeclines at sixteen weeks.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThat is our estimate.\u201d<\/p>\n
Rachel looked at me.<\/p>\n
Five weeks.<\/p>\n
Then back to Reyes.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat happens when it shuts off?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWe do not know.\u201d<\/p>\n
No one softened it.<\/p>\n
Rachel appreciated that.<\/p>\n
Dr. Brooks spoke next.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe pregnancy itself is high risk because of your health, prior surgeries, and current cancer treatment needs.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cCan I carry it?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cPossibly.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cSafely?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo pregnancy in your current condition can be called low-risk.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cCan I survive it?\u201d<\/p>\n
Dr. Brooks paused.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe believe there is a medically reasonable path if you choose continuation, but the risk is significant.\u201d<\/p>\n
Rachel\u2019s hand tightened around mine.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd if I end it?\u201d<\/p>\n
Dr. Chen answered.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe could intensify cancer treatment sooner.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWould that improve my survival?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cPotentially.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHow much?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWe do not have reliable numbers because your tumor biology has been altered by RV-13 and possibly by the fetal repair factors.\u201d<\/p>\n
Rachel closed her eyes.<\/p>\n
There would be no clean percentage.<\/p>\n
No chart telling her which future to choose.<\/p>\n
Grace stood very still.<\/p>\n
She knew enough medicine to understand every uncertainty.<\/p>\n
That made it harder.<\/p>\n
Rachel asked, \u201cIs the fetus healthy?\u201d<\/p>\n
Dr. Brooks answered carefully.<\/p>\n
\u201cAt present, development appears appropriate.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd the synthetic edit?\u201d<\/p>\n
Dr. Reyes said, \u201cWe do not know its long-term effects.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cCould the baby be sick?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cCould it be healthy?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cCould the synthetic system stop and leave no lasting problem?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cCould it trigger something later?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
Rachel opened her eyes.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat is an impressive number of yeses for a room full of uncertainty.\u201d<\/p>\n
Dr. Reyes almost smiled.<\/p>\n
\u201cUnfortunately.\u201d<\/p>\n
Rachel looked at Grace.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat would you do?\u201d<\/p>\n
Grace froze.<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m not answering that.\u201d<\/p>\n
Rachel stared.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou\u2019re my daughter.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd a nurse.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cSo?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cSo you are asking me to borrow authority I do not have.\u201d<\/p>\n
Rachel\u2019s eyes filled.<\/p>\n
Grace continued.<\/p>\n
\u201cI can tell you what questions I would ask. I can sit beside you. I can be angry with you. I can help you understand data.\u201d<\/p>\n
She shook her head.<\/p>\n
\u201cBut I won\u2019t decide what you should do.\u201d<\/p>\n
Rachel smiled faintly.<\/p>\n
\u201cGood.\u201d<\/p>\n
Leah stepped inside.<\/p>\n
\u201cI would panic.\u201d<\/p>\n
Everyone looked at her.<\/p>\n
She shrugged.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou asked Grace. I\u2019m contributing.\u201d<\/p>\n
Rachel laughed.<\/p>\n
Leah continued.<\/p>\n
\u201cI would panic, swear, leave the room, come back, accuse everyone of lying, read the papers myself, then make a decision at two in the morning and change it three times.\u201d<\/p>\n
Rachel\u2019s smile widened.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat actually sounds useful.\u201d<\/p>\n
Leah sat beside Grace.<\/p>\n
Emily remained near the door.<\/p>\n
Rachel looked at her.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat about you?\u201d<\/p>\n
Emily frowned.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou barely know me.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI barely know any of my children.\u201d<\/p>\n
That hurt.<\/p>\n
But she said it without self-pity.<\/p>\n
Emily entered.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think nobody should tell you what this pregnancy means.\u201d<\/p>\n
Rachel\u2019s eyes sharpened.<\/p>\n
Emily continued.<\/p>\n
\u201cNot miracle. Not experiment. Not replacement child. Not therapy. Not evidence.\u201d<\/p>\n
Her voice trembled.<\/p>\n
\u201cNot redemption.\u201d<\/p>\n
Rachel stared.<\/p>\n
Emily looked down.<\/p>\n
\u201cI grew up knowing I was wanted by the people who raised me. Even after I learned how I was conceived, that mattered.\u201d<\/p>\n
She looked at Rachel.<\/p>\n
\u201cSo if you continue, it should be because you want this child. Not because the child might save you.\u201d<\/p>\n
That landed.<\/p>\n
Hard.<\/p>\n
Rachel squeezed my hand.<\/p>\n
I asked, \u201cAnd if she doesn\u2019t want it?\u201d<\/p>\n
Emily looked at me.<\/p>\n
\u201cThen that matters too.\u201d<\/p>\n
No judgment.<\/p>\n
Rachel began crying.<\/p>\n
Not dramatically.<\/p>\n
Tears simply came.<\/p>\n
She wiped them with the back of her hand.<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t know what I want.\u201d<\/p>\n
Grace moved closer.<\/p>\n
\u201cThen you don\u2019t have to know this minute.\u201d<\/p>\n
Dr. Brooks nodded.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe have some time.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHow much?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNot unlimited.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cSpecific.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDays for immediate treatment planning. Longer for pregnancy decisions depending on your condition.\u201d<\/p>\n
Rachel nodded.<\/p>\n
\u201cDays.\u201d<\/p>\n
Better than minutes.<\/p>\n
Better than Harlan asking which baby to save while she hemorrhaged.<\/p>\n
Time itself became a kind of dignity.<\/p>\n
I told Rachel about Samuel\u2019s notebook.<\/p>\n
Not every detail.<\/p>\n
Only what affected her now.<\/p>\n
Embryo three had been preserved as leverage.<\/p>\n
Samuel never intended implantation.<\/p>\n
He eventually wanted the embryo destroyed before it became a child.<\/p>\n
Once born, he wrote, the child should belong only to itself.<\/p>\n
Rachel listened.<\/p>\n
Then said, \u201cHe understood at the end.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cToo late.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cStill.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
She looked at her abdomen.<\/p>\n
\u201cI hate that his note affects how I feel.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause I don\u2019t want another dead man deciding what this child means.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThen don\u2019t let him.\u201d<\/p>\n
She looked at me.<\/p>\n
\u201cEasy for you to say.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
I leaned closer.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt isn\u2019t.\u201d<\/p>\n
She waited.<\/p>\n
\u201cI already feel things.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat things?\u201d<\/p>\n
I looked at her stomach.<\/p>\n
\u201cHope.\u201d<\/p>\n
Her eyes filled.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd fear.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd love?\u201d<\/p>\n
I hesitated.<\/p>\n
That mattered.<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t know the child.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBut?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBut I know what it feels like to learn someone exists and immediately be afraid of losing them.\u201d<\/p>\n
Grace looked away.<\/p>\n
Leah too.<\/p>\n
Emily\u2019s face softened.<\/p>\n
I continued.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat is not the same as deciding what you should do.\u201d<\/p>\n
Rachel nodded.<\/p>\n
\u201cThank you.\u201d<\/p>\n
She leaned back.<\/p>\n
After a while, Grace checked the latest labs.<\/p>\n
Her expression improved slightly.<\/p>\n
\u201cMom.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYour liver numbers are better.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cGood?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause of the pregnancy?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWe don\u2019t know.\u201d<\/p>\n
Rachel groaned.<\/p>\n
Leah laughed.<\/p>\n
\u201cPut it on the family crest.\u201d<\/p>\n
An hour later, Ortiz arrived.<\/p>\n
She carried more evidence from Samuel\u2019s notebook and Harlan\u2019s old systems.<\/p>\n
\u201cHarlan was found.\u201d<\/p>\n
Everyone stared.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhere?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThe Lake Travis property.\u201d<\/p>\n
Mara had predicted it.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat was he doing?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cTrying to access the artificial gestational unit.\u201d<\/p>\n
Grace stood.<\/p>\n
\u201cG3-07.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDid he hurt it?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cJulian?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cStopped him.\u201d<\/p>\n
My chest tightened.<\/p>\n
\u201cHow?\u201d<\/p>\n
Ortiz looked at us.<\/p>\n
\u201cHarlan tried to shut down support.\u201d<\/p>\n
Grace went pale.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe said the fetus was contaminated evidence.\u201d<\/p>\n
Leah\u2019s face hardened.<\/p>\n
\u201cMeaning?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cOnce Mara\u2019s archive went public, Harlan decided anything that could connect him to unauthorized embryo creation had to disappear.\u201d<\/p>\n
Rachel whispered, \u201cHe would kill it.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDid Julian hurt him?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cPolice?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHarlan is back in custody.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cVerified?\u201d<\/p>\n
Ortiz almost smiled.<\/p>\n
\u201cRetinal scan, fingerprints, DNA, dental records, and three officers who are deeply tired of him.\u201d<\/p>\n
Leah nodded.<\/p>\n
\u201cFinally, standards.\u201d<\/p>\n
Rachel asked, \u201cHow is G3-07?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cStable.\u201d<\/p>\n
Grace exhaled.<\/p>\n
Ortiz continued.<\/p>\n
\u201cJulian wants an ethics court appointed immediately for medical guardianship.\u201d<\/p>\n
Rachel looked at Grace.<\/p>\n
\u201cGood.\u201d<\/p>\n
Another choice removed from researchers and placed under independent oversight.<\/p>\n
Small progress.<\/p>\n
Then Ortiz handed me a photocopy.<\/p>\n
\u201cSamuel\u2019s notebook included an account number.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat for?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cA trust.\u201d<\/p>\n
I frowned.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhose?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cEstablished twenty-five years ago.\u201d<\/p>\n
Beneficiaries listed only as descendants of Daniel Whitmore and Rachel Shaw affected by Vale research.<\/p>\n
Rachel stared.<\/p>\n
\u201cSamuel made a trust for our children.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cLooks that way.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHow much?\u201d<\/p>\n
Ortiz told us.<\/p>\n
The number was enormous.<\/p>\n
Millions.<\/p>\n
I stared.<\/p>\n
\u201cMy father did not have that.\u201d<\/p>\n
Ortiz nodded.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe money came from offshore accounts linked to Harlan\u2019s adoption payments.\u201d<\/p>\n
Rachel went still.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe stole Harlan\u2019s money.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cRecovered part of it.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd saved it.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cFor victims.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cPrimarily your descendants, but the language allows broader restitution.\u201d<\/p>\n
I felt sick.<\/p>\n
Blood money.<\/p>\n
Converted into protection.<\/p>\n
Again.<\/p>\n
Samuel trying to repair harm using the tools that created it.<\/p>\n
Rachel looked at me.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat do you want to do?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNot keep it.\u201d<\/p>\n
Grace said, \u201cYou should not decide before legal review.\u201d<\/p>\n
I looked at her.<\/p>\n
She shrugged.<\/p>\n
\u201cPeople keep making permanent decisions while emotional.\u201d<\/p>\n
Fair.<\/p>\n
Ortiz nodded.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe court will freeze it.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cGood.\u201d<\/p>\n
Another problem delayed until people could think.<\/p>\n
Rachel looked almost relieved.<\/p>\n
Then her monitor alarmed.<\/p>\n
Grace moved immediately.<\/p>\n
\u201cMom?\u201d<\/p>\n
Rachel\u2019s hand tightened around mine.<\/p>\n
Pain crossed her face.<\/p>\n
\u201cCramp.\u201d<\/p>\n
Dr. Brooks entered quickly.<\/p>\n
\u201cHow bad?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cSharp.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhere?\u201d<\/p>\n
Rachel pointed low on her abdomen.<\/p>\n
Every person in the room changed.<\/p>\n
Grace helped her lie back.<\/p>\n
Dr. Brooks checked the monitor.<\/p>\n
\u201cFetal heart rate present.\u201d<\/p>\n
Rachel breathed through another wave.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat is happening?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cCould be uterine irritation.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cCould I lose the pregnancy?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cPossibly.\u201d<\/p>\n
The word landed differently now.<\/p>\n
Because Rachel still had not decided what she wanted.<\/p>\n
And suddenly her body might decide first.<\/p>\n
She looked at me.<\/p>\n
Terror.<\/p>\n
Not because she had chosen continuation.<\/p>\n
Because choice was being threatened again.<\/p>\n
\u201cDo something.\u201d<\/p>\n
Dr. Brooks nodded.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe are.\u201d<\/p>\n
Medication.<\/p>\n
Fluids.<\/p>\n
Ultrasound.<\/p>\n
The room filled with controlled movement.<\/p>\n
I stepped back because they needed space.<\/p>\n
Rachel refused to release my hand.<\/p>\n
So I stayed close enough.<\/p>\n
Minutes passed.<\/p>\n
The pain eased.<\/p>\n
Fetal heart remained steady.<\/p>\n
No bleeding.<\/p>\n
Dr. Brooks exhaled.<\/p>\n
\u201cStable.\u201d<\/p>\n
Rachel closed her eyes.<\/p>\n
Grace leaned against the counter.<\/p>\n
Leah sat down hard.<\/p>\n
Emily whispered, \u201cJesus.\u201d<\/p>\n
Rachel opened her eyes.<\/p>\n
She looked at me.<\/p>\n
I knew before she spoke.<\/p>\n
The fear had answered something.<\/p>\n
Not everything.<\/p>\n
But something.<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t want to lose it.\u201d<\/p>\n
My chest tightened.<\/p>\n
She began crying.<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t know what I\u2019ll decide tomorrow.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cOkay.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t know what the cancer will force.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cOkay.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t know whether wanting this child makes any sense.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIt doesn\u2019t have to.\u201d<\/p>\n
She gripped my hand.<\/p>\n
\u201cBut right now, I don\u2019t want to lose it.\u201d<\/p>\n
I leaned down.<\/p>\n
\u201cThen right now, that is what matters.\u201d<\/p>\n
Grace heard.<\/p>\n
So did the doctors.<\/p>\n
Not a lifetime decision.<\/p>\n
Not a moral declaration.<\/p>\n
A present choice.<\/p>\n
Preserve the pregnancy tonight.<\/p>\n
Reevaluate with facts tomorrow.<\/p>\n
For the first time in this entire story, nobody tried to turn one moment of fear into a permanent contract.<\/p>\n
Later, when Rachel slept, I sat in the hallway.<\/p>\n
Michael approached.<\/p>\n
He looked exhausted.<\/p>\n
\u201cCan I sit?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
He did.<\/p>\n
For a while we watched nurses move through the corridor.<\/p>\n
Then he said, \u201cI received my raw sequencing.\u201d<\/p>\n
I looked at him.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHarlan is definitely my biological father.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWe knew.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAnna?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDefinitely my mother.\u201d<\/p>\n
I nodded.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat else?\u201d<\/p>\n
Michael stared at his hands.<\/p>\n
\u201cI carry the same Harlan-line repair variant Mara does.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIs that bad?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNot inherently.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThen?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cJulian carries it too.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cExpected.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd?\u201d<\/p>\n
Michael looked at me.<\/p>\n
\u201cDavid does not.\u201d<\/p>\n
I frowned.<\/p>\n
\u201cDavid is Samuel\u2019s son.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cSo?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe carries your suppressor branch.\u201d<\/p>\n
My skin chilled.<\/p>\n
\u201cThrough Samuel.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat does that mean?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDavid may have been more biologically relevant to the experiment than he realized.\u201d<\/p>\n
I stared.<\/p>\n
\u201cHarlan knew?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cProbably.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd kept him outside.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy?\u201d<\/p>\n
Michael\u2019s mouth tightened.<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause Harlan may have been using David\u2019s resentment deliberately.\u201d<\/p>\n
Of course.<\/p>\n
Another subject shaped by exclusion.<\/p>\n
Then Michael continued.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere\u2019s another issue.\u201d<\/p>\n
I waited.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe synthetic fetal suppressor pattern.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cOne segment matches David.\u201d<\/p>\n
I stared.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou said the embryo was ours.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIt is.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThen how can part match David?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNot parentage.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cGene sequence.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cSomeone used David\u2019s suppressor variant as an editing template.\u201d<\/p>\n
The room seemed to narrow.<\/p>\n
\u201cSo the fetus carries something from me, Rachel, and a sequence copied from David.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
Not his child genetically.<\/p>\n
But his biology had been used.<\/p>\n
Another theft.<\/p>\n
Another layer.<\/p>\n
\u201cDoes David know?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cShould he?\u201d<\/p>\n
Michael looked at me.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s not my decision.\u201d<\/p>\n
I almost smiled.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou are learning too.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
Then Grace came out of Rachel\u2019s room.<\/p>\n
\u201cDad.\u201d<\/p>\n
I stood.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cMom\u2019s awake.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cOkay.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cShe asked for you.\u201d<\/p>\n
I started toward the door.<\/p>\n
Grace stopped me.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere\u2019s someone else here.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWho?\u201d<\/p>\n
She looked down the corridor.<\/p>\n
Elaine stood between two officers.<\/p>\n
No restraints.<\/p>\n
Cooperating witness.<\/p>\n
Leah had not seen her yet.<\/p>\n
My chest tightened.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy?\u201d<\/p>\n
Grace\u2019s expression was uneasy.<\/p>\n
\u201cElaine says she knows what happens at sixteen weeks.\u201d<\/p>\n
Rachel was sitting upright when I returned. That was the first thing I noticed. Not the monitors. Not Grace standing beside the bed. Not the three physicians gathered around a … <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":19914,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-19949","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\/19949","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=19949"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19949\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":20027,"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19949\/revisions\/20027"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/19914"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=19949"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=19949"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=19949"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}