By the time I returned to Natalie\u2019s house, Emma had built a blanket fort across half the living room.<\/p>\n
Chloe sat inside reading.<\/p>\n
Natalie handed me a plate before I had removed my coat.<\/p>\n
\u201cEat.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m not hungry.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThat wasn\u2019t a question.\u201d<\/p>\n
I took the plate.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhere are the girls sleeping?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cApparently inside a textile-based fortress.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cGood.\u201d<\/p>\n
Natalie studied my face.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou learned more.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHow bad?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cEnough that I don\u2019t want to talk about it in front of them.\u201d<\/p>\n
She nodded.<\/p>\n
No pressure.<\/p>\n
No questions.<\/p>\n
Again, exactly why I had come.<\/p>\n
After dinner, I helped Emma reinforce the blanket roof with dining chairs. Chloe asked whether Seattle schools had good art classes.<\/p>\n
The question startled me.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou\u2019re thinking about school here?\u201d<\/p>\n
She shrugged.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf we stay.\u201d<\/p>\n
I sat on the floor beside her.<\/p>\n
\u201cWould that bother you?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t know.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s allowed.\u201d<\/p>\n
She looked at the blanket wall.<\/p>\n
\u201cDad would be far away.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWould he visit?\u201d<\/p>\n
The truth was complicated.<\/p>\n
So I gave her the simplest honest version.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat would be up to him and whatever arrangements the adults make.\u201d<\/p>\n
She nodded.<\/p>\n
Then she said, \u201cI like Aunt Natalie\u2019s house.\u201d<\/p>\n
I smiled.<\/p>\n
\u201cSo do I.\u201d<\/p>\n
Later, after both girls were asleep, Rebecca called.<\/p>\n
\u201cJessica\u2019s attorney contacted me.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cShe got one fast.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cShe needed one.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cCriminal attorney?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBoth criminal and reproductive-law counsel.\u201d<\/p>\n
That answered enough.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat does she want?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cTo provide documents.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThen provide them.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThere\u2019s a condition.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cOf course.\u201d<\/p>\n
Rebecca sighed.<\/p>\n
\u201cShe wants a written agreement that turning the records over voluntarily will not be characterized by us as an admission that she forged your signature.\u201d<\/p>\n
I stared at the dark kitchen window.<\/p>\n
\u201cDid she forge it?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHer attorney says no.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThen why does she need language protecting her?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause voluntary production can be mischaracterized later. Her lawyer is doing the job.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat documents does she actually have?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cOriginal transfer forms, correspondence with Carter, copies of old Oakfield records, and something she calls a private agreement.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBetween whom?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cCarter, Jessica, and Richard.\u201d<\/p>\n
My chair scraped the floor as I sat straighter.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat agreement?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cShe won\u2019t send details until terms are settled.\u201d<\/p>\n
I closed my eyes.<\/p>\n
\u201cRebecca, every time somebody says agreement, another layer of my life turns out to have been negotiated without me.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI know.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo. You know legally. I mean they were sitting in rooms making plans about embryos created from my body while I was driving the girls to school.\u201d<\/p>\n
Rebecca went quiet.<\/p>\n
I immediately regretted the sharpness.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat wasn\u2019t fair.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was fair enough.\u201d<\/p>\n
I rubbed my forehead.<\/p>\n
\u201cWill giving her the language hurt us?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo, if drafted properly.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThen do it.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI already sent a limited non-admission clause.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cGood.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cShe wants to meet tomorrow.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHere?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNot at my sister\u2019s house.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAbsolutely not.\u201d<\/p>\n
We arranged the meeting for a law office downtown.<\/p>\n
Before hanging up, Rebecca said, \u201cThere\u2019s another development.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThe court granted temporary preservation relief.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThat fast?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWe demonstrated risk of spoliation.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat does Carter have to preserve?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cEmails, texts, corporate servers, personal devices, cloud storage, and any documents connected to Oakfield, Jessica, the embryo account, succession planning, and your divorce.\u201d<\/p>\n
I felt a grim satisfaction.<\/p>\n
\u201cSo he can\u2019t delete.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe was already not supposed to destroy relevant evidence. Now the order makes the obligation explicit.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat if he already did?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThen forensic recovery may still find it.\u201d<\/p>\n
I looked at the gray folder on the kitchen counter.<\/p>\n
\u201cDo you think Richard will comply?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe has counsel.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThat wasn\u2019t my question.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
I appreciated the direct answer.<\/p>\n
The following morning, I woke to sixteen messages.<\/p>\n
Most were from Carter.<\/p>\n
Two from Margaret.<\/p>\n
One from Victoria.<\/p>\n
And one from an unfamiliar email address.<\/p>\n
Subject:<\/p>\n
YOU SHOULD KNOW WHY YOUR EMBRYOS WERE KEPT.<\/p>\n
I forwarded it to Rebecca without opening the attachment.<\/p>\n
She called ten minutes later.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt appears to be from a former Sterling accountant.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cReal?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re verifying.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat does it say?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThe body claims Richard began categorizing the embryo storage as a succession-planning expense six years ago.\u201d<\/p>\n
My stomach tightened.<\/p>\n
\u201cSix years.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBefore Jessica.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBefore the affair.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBefore our marriage was in trouble.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
That mattered more than I expected.<\/p>\n
For a moment, I had allowed myself to imagine Carter\u2019s worst decisions as something that began with Jessica.<\/p>\n
An affair escalating into reproductive betrayal.<\/p>\n
But the lie about the embryos was older.<\/p>\n
The betrayal had been inside the marriage while I still thought it was stable.<\/p>\n
Jessica may have exploited it.<\/p>\n
She did not create it.<\/p>\n
\u201cAny proof?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThere\u2019s an attached spreadsheet, but I want metadata verified.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cOkay.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd Lauren?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThe accountant says Richard used the phrase \u2018male contingency asset.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n
I closed my eyes.<\/p>\n
Asset again.<\/p>\n
They had built a financial category around the embryo.<\/p>\n
My child as a contingency.<\/p>\n
My consent as an inconvenience.<\/p>\n
At eleven-thirty, I arrived at the meeting.<\/p>\n
Jessica was already there.<\/p>\n
It was the first time I had seen her in person since learning everything.<\/p>\n
Pregnancy had softened her face.<\/p>\n
She wore a long gray coat over a black dress, and her hands rested protectively over her stomach when I entered.<\/p>\n
I hated that gesture.<\/p>\n
Not because she was protecting the baby.<\/p>\n
Because part of me recognized the instinct.<\/p>\n
Protect.<\/p>\n
Shelter.<\/p>\n
Keep safe.<\/p>\n
That instinct belonged to both of us now, although in ways neither of us had chosen.<\/p>\n
Jessica stood.<\/p>\n
\u201cLauren.\u201d<\/p>\n
I sat without answering.<\/p>\n
Her attorneys introduced themselves.<\/p>\n
Rebecca appeared by video again.<\/p>\n
Aaron joined me in person.<\/p>\n
A document box sat beside Jessica\u2019s chair.<\/p>\n
My eyes kept returning to it.<\/p>\n
Rebecca began with formalities.<\/p>\n
Then Jessica\u2019s attorney slid a signed stipulation across the table.<\/p>\n
The non-admission language.<\/p>\n
Once everyone confirmed it, Jessica opened the box.<\/p>\n
She removed a thick folder.<\/p>\n
\u201cThese are the original papers Carter gave me.\u201d<\/p>\n
Her voice shook slightly.<\/p>\n
I looked at her.<\/p>\n
\u201cOriginals?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNot copies?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cOriginals.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHow did you get them?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cCarter gave them to me after the first transfer failed.\u201d<\/p>\n
I glanced at Rebecca.<\/p>\n
That was unexpected.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe wanted me to keep everything outside his house.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause I was still living there.\u201d<\/p>\n
Jessica looked down.<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
The answer was quiet.<\/p>\n
At least she did not pretend.<\/p>\n
She passed the first document to her lawyer, who passed it to Aaron.<\/p>\n
The forged disposition directive.<\/p>\n
My supposed signature.<\/p>\n
Elaine Mercer as witness.<\/p>\n
Aaron inspected the ink.<\/p>\n
Rebecca said, \u201cWe\u2019ll need forensic examination.\u201d<\/p>\n
Jessica nodded.<\/p>\n
\u201cI know.\u201d<\/p>\n
The next document was the embryo-release authorization.<\/p>\n
My name again.<\/p>\n
Another fake signature.<\/p>\n
This one looked closer to mine.<\/p>\n
I stared at it.<\/p>\n
Someone had practiced.<\/p>\n
I had signed thousands of documents during my marriage.<\/p>\n
Tax returns.<\/p>\n
School forms.<\/p>\n
Corporate-event acknowledgments.<\/p>\n
Property agreements.<\/p>\n
Finding examples of my handwriting would not have been difficult.<\/p>\n
I asked, \u201cWho filled these out?\u201d<\/p>\n
Jessica\u2019s attorney intervened.<\/p>\n
\u201cMy client will answer factual questions within agreed scope.\u201d<\/p>\n
Jessica looked at him.<\/p>\n
\u201cI can answer.\u201d<\/p>\n
Then she looked at me.<\/p>\n
\u201cCarter gave them to me completed.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDid you ever ask me if I had consented?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy?\u201d<\/p>\n
She swallowed.<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause he told me you had.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s not what I asked.\u201d<\/p>\n
Her face tightened.<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou knew where I lived.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou knew we were married.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou were sleeping with my husband.\u201d<\/p>\n
Her lawyer shifted.<\/p>\n
Jessica said, \u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd you were preparing to have a child using an embryo created from my egg.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBut you never thought to verify with me.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI believed the documents.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo, you chose the version that benefited you.\u201d<\/p>\n
Jessica\u2019s eyes filled, but she did not cry.<\/p>\n
\u201cI know how it looks.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHow it looks?\u201d<\/p>\n
Rebecca cut in gently.<\/p>\n
\u201cLauren.\u201d<\/p>\n
I stopped.<\/p>\n
Not because Jessica deserved protection.<\/p>\n
Because I needed information more than release.<\/p>\n
Jessica opened another folder.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is the agreement.\u201d<\/p>\n
Three signatures appeared at the bottom.<\/p>\n
Carter Sterling.<\/p>\n
Richard Sterling.<\/p>\n
Jessica Mercer.<\/p>\n
The title read:<\/p>\n
PRIVATE FAMILY SUCCESSION AND REPRODUCTIVE ARRANGEMENT.<\/p>\n
My skin crawled.<\/p>\n
Aaron began reading.<\/p>\n
I watched his expression change.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat?\u201d I asked.<\/p>\n
He turned the page toward me.<\/p>\n
The agreement outlined financial support to Jessica during pregnancy.<\/p>\n
Medical expenses.<\/p>\n
Housing.<\/p>\n
A trust for the child.<\/p>\n
Confidentiality.<\/p>\n
And a payment.<\/p>\n
A very large payment.<\/p>\n
Due upon birth of a living male child genetically descended from Carter Sterling.<\/p>\n
I looked at Jessica.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou were being paid.\u201d<\/p>\n
Her face went pale.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt wasn\u2019t payment for the baby.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThen what was it?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cFor confidentiality and the risk I was taking.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat risk?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cPregnancy.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou used my embryo.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI know.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou were paid more if the male embryo worked.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThe agreement was Richard\u2019s.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou signed it.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
I forced myself to continue.<\/p>\n
Another clause addressed the first transfer.<\/p>\n
If a female embryo was utilized as a preliminary transfer and did not result in a sustained pregnancy, no succession payment would be due.<\/p>\n
I felt physically sick.<\/p>\n
Preliminary transfer.<\/p>\n
There it was again.<\/p>\n
The female embryo reduced to a trial run in a contract.<\/p>\n
Jessica whispered, \u201cI argued against that wording.\u201d<\/p>\n
I looked at her.<\/p>\n
\u201cBut you signed it.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cStop telling me what you objected to before doing it anyway.\u201d<\/p>\n
She flinched.<\/p>\n
Good.<\/p>\n
I hated that I felt satisfaction.<\/p>\n
But I did.<\/p>\n
Aaron read further.<\/p>\n
\u201cHere.\u201d<\/p>\n
Another clause.<\/p>\n
Upon confirmed pregnancy resulting from the male embryo, Carter Sterling would initiate dissolution of marriage within sixty days.<\/p>\n
I stopped breathing.<\/p>\n
The contract dictated the divorce.<\/p>\n
Not after some vague future point.<\/p>\n
Sixty days.<\/p>\n
I counted backward.<\/p>\n
Carter had filed fifty-three days after Jessica\u2019s successful transfer.<\/p>\n
Exact compliance.<\/p>\n
My marriage had ended on a contractual timetable.<\/p>\n
Jessica watched me realize it.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m sorry.\u201d<\/p>\n
I looked at her.<\/p>\n
\u201cDid Carter write this?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cRichard?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHis lawyer drafted it.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhich lawyer?\u201d<\/p>\n
She gave a name I recognized.<\/p>\n
Not Carter\u2019s divorce attorney.<\/p>\n
Sterling Holdings corporate counsel.<\/p>\n
That widened the circle again.<\/p>\n
Rebecca asked, \u201cWas the attorney told the embryos belonged genetically to Lauren?\u201d<\/p>\n
Jessica hesitated.<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
Aaron looked up sharply.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat was he told about consent?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThat Lauren had relinquished control.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBased on the forged documents?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
Rebecca wrote something down.<\/p>\n
Then Jessica reached into the box and removed a sealed envelope.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is why I agreed to meet.\u201d<\/p>\n
She placed it in front of me.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat is it?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cA letter from my mother.\u201d<\/p>\n
Elaine Mercer.<\/p>\n
I stared at the envelope.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWritten before she died.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cTo whom?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cTo me.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy does it matter?\u201d<\/p>\n
Jessica\u2019s hand returned to her stomach.<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause she explains what happened six years ago.\u201d<\/p>\n
The room went very still.<\/p>\n
Jessica slid the envelope across the table.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd she names the person who asked her to create the first fake document.\u201d<\/p>\n
By the time I returned to Natalie\u2019s house, Emma had built a blanket fort across half the living room. Chloe sat inside reading. Natalie handed me a plate before I … <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":24435,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-24445","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\/24445","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=24445"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24445\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":24480,"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24445\/revisions\/24480"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/24435"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=24445"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=24445"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=24445"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}