Elise arrived twenty minutes later.<\/p>\n
She did not knock.<\/p>\n
She pushed through Ingrid\u2019s front door wearing the same blue dress from dinner beneath an open coat.<\/p>\n
Her face was wet from crying.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhere is she?\u201d<\/p>\n
Nobody answered quickly enough.<\/p>\n
Elise looked at me.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhere is Lily?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t know.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou said she\u2019s alive.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThe message says she is.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cA message?\u201d<\/p>\n
Her voice rose.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou called me and told me my dead baby is alive because an anonymous person texted you?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI told you what I know.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou don\u2019t know anything.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI know the transfer record exists.\u201d<\/p>\n
She stopped.<\/p>\n
I continued.<\/p>\n
\u201cI know the embryo was coded from my stored material.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd Felix\u2019s.\u201d<\/p>\n
She looked at him.<\/p>\n
He stood near the window.<\/p>\n
He looked as broken as she did.<\/p>\n
Elise whispered, \u201cYou knew?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou swear?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
She crossed the room and slapped him.<\/p>\n
The sound cracked through the silence.<\/p>\n
Felix did not move.<\/p>\n
\u201cI thought she died.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI know.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou let your family control everything.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI know.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cStop saying that!\u201d<\/p>\n
Her voice broke.<\/p>\n
I had said almost the same thing.<\/p>\n
Felix closed his eyes.<\/p>\n
Elise hit his chest once with both hands.<\/p>\n
Not hard.<\/p>\n
Then again.<\/p>\n
He let her.<\/p>\n
\u201cI held an empty blanket.\u201d<\/p>\n
The room went still.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey gave me a blanket after delivery.\u201d<\/p>\n
Her voice shook violently.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey said they had already taken her away.\u201d<\/p>\n
Ingrid covered her mouth.<\/p>\n
Elise looked at Felix.<\/p>\n
\u201cI asked to see her.\u201d<\/p>\n
He whispered, \u201cI didn\u2019t know.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThey said it would be better if I remembered her before.\u201d<\/p>\n
She folded forward.<\/p>\n
Felix caught her instinctively.<\/p>\n
For one second she allowed it.<\/p>\n
Then pushed him away.<\/p>\n
I looked toward Harold.<\/p>\n
\u201cCall Martin.\u201d<\/p>\n
He shook his head.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe won\u2019t answer.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cTry.\u201d<\/p>\n
Harold called.<\/p>\n
Voicemail.<\/p>\n
Again.<\/p>\n
Nothing.<\/p>\n
Sabine tried.<\/p>\n
Nothing.<\/p>\n
I called.<\/p>\n
Straight to voicemail.<\/p>\n
Caroline said, \u201cHis phone is probably off.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cCan you locate him?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNot legally.\u201d<\/p>\n
I looked at her.<\/p>\n
\u201cSince when has legality been the defining feature of tonight?\u201d<\/p>\n
She almost smiled.<\/p>\n
Almost.<\/p>\n
\u201cI can check known properties.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDo it.\u201d<\/p>\n
Elise sat at the table.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat did they do to me?\u201d<\/p>\n
Nobody answered.<\/p>\n
So I sat across from her.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey used you.\u201d<\/p>\n
Her eyes met mine.<\/p>\n
\u201cLike they used me.\u201d<\/p>\n
She started crying again.<\/p>\n
I reached across the table.<\/p>\n
Then stopped.<\/p>\n
She looked at my hand.<\/p>\n
After a moment, she took it.<\/p>\n
That was the first time we touched voluntarily.<\/p>\n
My husband\u2019s mistress.<\/p>\n
The gestational mother of a child genetically created from Felix and me.<\/p>\n
A woman who had helped select me for a fraudulent marriage.<\/p>\n
A woman whose body had been violated by the same system that violated mine.<\/p>\n
There was no simple name for what we were to each other.<\/p>\n
Victim and offender.<\/p>\n
Rivals and allies.<\/p>\n
Two women connected by choices other people had made with our bodies.<\/p>\n
Felix watched from across the room.<\/p>\n
He did not interrupt.<\/p>\n
Caroline called ten minutes later.<\/p>\n
\u201cMartin owns no residential property personally.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cTrust properties?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cSeveral.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAnything suitable for a baby?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI found one possibility.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhere?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cA private residence attached to a pediatric rehabilitation center.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cOwned by?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cA Blake Foundation subsidiary.\u201d<\/p>\n
Harold frowned.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat center?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cRosehaven.\u201d<\/p>\n
His face changed.<\/p>\n
Sabine noticed.<\/p>\n
\u201cDad.\u201d<\/p>\n
He looked at her.<\/p>\n
\u201cRosehaven was where Alice lived.\u201d<\/p>\n
His sister.<\/p>\n
The woman erased from the family.<\/p>\n
My stomach tightened.<\/p>\n
\u201cAddress.\u201d<\/p>\n
Caroline gave it.<\/p>\n
Forty minutes away.<\/p>\n
We left immediately.<\/p>\n
This time nobody argued about who came.<\/p>\n
Elise rode with me.<\/p>\n
Felix followed.<\/p>\n
Sabine and Caroline took another car.<\/p>\n
Harold stayed behind with Ingrid.<\/p>\n
I did not trust them.<\/p>\n
But I trusted Martin less.<\/p>\n
Rosehaven stood behind iron gates on a wooded property.<\/p>\n
The main building looked more like an old hotel than a medical center.<\/p>\n
Three stories.<\/p>\n
Brick.<\/p>\n
White columns.<\/p>\n
A security booth stood near the entrance.<\/p>\n
The guard stepped outside.<\/p>\n
\u201cFacility\u2019s closed.\u201d<\/p>\n
Caroline showed identification.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re looking for Martin Voss.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo one by that name here.\u201d<\/p>\n
Elise leaned across me.<\/p>\n
\u201cA baby named Lily.\u201d<\/p>\n
The guard\u2019s expression changed.<\/p>\n
Tiny.<\/p>\n
But enough.<\/p>\n
Elise saw it.<\/p>\n
\u201cShe\u2019s here.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI didn\u2019t say that.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou didn\u2019t need to.\u201d<\/p>\n
He stepped back.<\/p>\n
\u201cMa\u2019am, you need to leave.\u201d<\/p>\n
Caroline said, \u201cWe can call police.\u201d<\/p>\n
The guard looked toward the building.<\/p>\n
\u201cDo that.\u201d<\/p>\n
That surprised me.<\/p>\n
He was not protecting Martin.<\/p>\n
He was afraid.<\/p>\n
Caroline called.<\/p>\n
While we waited, a woman in scrubs appeared at a side door.<\/p>\n
She saw our cars.<\/p>\n
Then disappeared.<\/p>\n
Two minutes later, my phone rang.<\/p>\n
Unknown number.<\/p>\n
Not a message.<\/p>\n
A call.<\/p>\n
I answered.<\/p>\n
\u201cNora?\u201d<\/p>\n
A woman.<\/p>\n
Older.<\/p>\n
Familiar.<\/p>\n
Margaret.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhere are you?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cRosehaven.\u201d<\/p>\n
Silence.<\/p>\n
Then:<\/p>\n
\u201cYou moved faster than I expected.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou knew.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cLily?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
Elise grabbed my arm.<\/p>\n
I put the call on speaker.<\/p>\n
Margaret continued.<\/p>\n
\u201cShe\u2019s alive.\u201d<\/p>\n
Elise began crying.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhere?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cSecond floor.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy didn\u2019t you tell us?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause until the codicil was secured, Martin could move her.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou let Elise believe her baby was dead.\u201d<\/p>\n
Margaret went silent.<\/p>\n
Elise stared at the phone.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou knew?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cFor how long?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cSix months.\u201d<\/p>\n
Elise made a sound of disbelief.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou monster.\u201d<\/p>\n
Margaret accepted it.<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou let me grieve.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cTo keep Lily hidden.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cFrom whom?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cMartin.\u201d<\/p>\n
I stared at the phone.<\/p>\n
\u201cShe\u2019s in his facility.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNot under his control anymore.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat does that mean?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI arranged staff loyal to me.\u201d<\/p>\n
Caroline shook her head.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis entire family thinks secret custody is protection.\u201d<\/p>\n
Margaret heard.<\/p>\n
\u201cSometimes secrecy was the only tool I had.\u201d<\/p>\n
Elise snapped, \u201cShe was my baby.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou had no right.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
Margaret\u2019s willingness to admit wrongdoing did not make it smaller.<\/p>\n
It only made it harder to dismiss her as another Martin.<\/p>\n
Police arrived.<\/p>\n
Then everything moved quickly.<\/p>\n
Records were requested.<\/p>\n
Administrators appeared.<\/p>\n
Lawyers were called.<\/p>\n
The guard stopped resisting.<\/p>\n
A nurse named Patricia led us upstairs.<\/p>\n
Elise could barely walk.<\/p>\n
I stayed beside her.<\/p>\n
Felix followed several feet behind.<\/p>\n
At the end of the hallway, Patricia stopped outside a room.<\/p>\n
\u201cShe\u2019s healthy.\u201d<\/p>\n
Elise covered her mouth.<\/p>\n
\u201cHow old?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cSeven months.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDoes she\u2014\u201d<\/p>\n
Her voice broke.<\/p>\n
\u201cDoes she know anyone?\u201d<\/p>\n
Patricia nodded.<\/p>\n
\u201cSeveral nurses.\u201d<\/p>\n
That answer was devastating.<\/p>\n
A seven-month-old knew caregivers.<\/p>\n
Not her mother.<\/p>\n
Not me.<\/p>\n
Not Felix.<\/p>\n
People paid to maintain a secret.<\/p>\n
Patricia opened the door.<\/p>\n
A crib stood beside the window.<\/p>\n
A baby was awake inside.<\/p>\n
Dark hair.<\/p>\n
Round cheeks.<\/p>\n
One sock missing.<\/p>\n
She held a cloth giraffe and chewed its ear.<\/p>\n
Elise stopped breathing.<\/p>\n
\u201cLily.\u201d<\/p>\n
The baby looked toward us.<\/p>\n
Elise stepped forward.<\/p>\n
Then stopped.<\/p>\n
She looked at me.<\/p>\n
I understood.<\/p>\n
Biologically, if the records were true, Lily came from my egg.<\/p>\n
But Elise had carried her.<\/p>\n
Felt her move.<\/p>\n
Given birth.<\/p>\n
Been told she died.<\/p>\n
Neither of us knew what rights belonged where.<\/p>\n
None of that mattered in the next ten seconds.<\/p>\n
\u201cGo,\u201d I whispered.<\/p>\n
Elise approached the crib.<\/p>\n
Her hands shook.<\/p>\n
\u201cHi.\u201d<\/p>\n
Lily stared.<\/p>\n
Elise began crying.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m your mama.\u201d<\/p>\n
The baby blinked.<\/p>\n
Then smiled.<\/p>\n
Elise folded over the crib rail.<\/p>\n
Felix turned away.<\/p>\n
I stood in the doorway.<\/p>\n
Something inside me hurt so badly that I could not name it.<\/p>\n
This child might share my DNA.<\/p>\n
But I had not carried her.<\/p>\n
I had not known she existed.<\/p>\n
Elise had.<\/p>\n
And someone had stolen the ending of that pregnancy from her.<\/p>\n
Patricia lifted Lily and placed her carefully into Elise\u2019s arms.<\/p>\n
Elise made a sound halfway between laughter and grief.<\/p>\n
Lily grabbed her necklace.<\/p>\n
Elise kissed the baby\u2019s hair again and again.<\/p>\n
Felix stepped closer.<\/p>\n
\u201cCan I?\u201d<\/p>\n
Elise looked at him.<\/p>\n
For a moment, I thought she would refuse.<\/p>\n
Then she turned Lily slightly.<\/p>\n
Felix touched one tiny hand.<\/p>\n
The baby wrapped her fingers around his.<\/p>\n
He started crying.<\/p>\n
I looked away.<\/p>\n
My phone buzzed.<\/p>\n
Anonymous number.<\/p>\n
I almost ignored it.<\/p>\n
Then I opened the message.<\/p>\n
LILY IS SAFE.<\/p>\n
I typed:<\/p>\n
WHO ARE YOU?<\/p>\n
This time, the answer came.<\/p>\n
SOMEONE WHO SHOULD HAVE TOLD YOU THE TRUTH ELEVEN YEARS AGO.<\/p>\n
My pulse quickened.<\/p>\n
A second message.<\/p>\n
I WAS AT YOUR WEDDING.<\/p>\n
Then a photograph arrived.<\/p>\n
Our wedding reception.<\/p>\n
Felix and me dancing.<\/p>\n
In the background, near the doorway, stood Martin.<\/p>\n
Harold.<\/p>\n
Ingrid.<\/p>\n
Sabine.<\/p>\n
Margaret.<\/p>\n
And one man I did not recognize.<\/p>\n
The message followed.<\/p>\n
YOU KNOW ME AS DAVID MERCER.<\/p>\n
I stared.<\/p>\n
Claire\u2019s attorney.<\/p>\n
Daniel\u2019s surname.<\/p>\n
The attorney who had verified our forged embryo-donation papers.<\/p>\n
Another message.<\/p>\n
BUT MERCER ISN\u2019T MY REAL NAME.<\/p>\n
Then:<\/p>\n
ASK MARGARET WHO HER FIRSTBORN SON WAS.<\/p>\n
Elise arrived twenty minutes later. She did not knock. She pushed through Ingrid\u2019s front door wearing the same blue dress from dinner beneath an open coat. Her face was wet … <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":25356,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-25375","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\/25375","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=25375"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25375\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":25410,"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25375\/revisions\/25410"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/25356"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=25375"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=25375"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=25375"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}