For several seconds after Dana spoke, I heard nothing except the faint hum of Rachel's refrigerator from the other room.<\/p>\n
The embryos were mine.<\/p>\n
They were not genetically Carter's.<\/p>\n
Yet the geneticist had confirmed paternal DNA from the Sterling family.<\/p>\n
I pressed my shoulder against the bedroom wall because standing suddenly required effort.<\/p>\n
\u201cRead the report again.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cLauren.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cRead the conclusion.\u201d<\/p>\n
Dana exhaled quietly.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe tested embryo samples are consistent with you as the genetic mother. They are inconsistent with Carter Sterling as the genetic father.\u201d<\/p>\n
I closed my eyes.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd Richard?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cRelated.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThat isn't specific enough.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThe report identifies a close paternal-line relationship between Richard and the embryo DNA.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHow close?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIt doesn't provide the full probability table in the archive copy.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThen what does it provide?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cA handwritten notation.\u201d<\/p>\n
My eyes opened.<\/p>\n
\u201cFrom Dr. Vale?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cApparently.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat does it say?\u201d<\/p>\n
Dana paused.<\/p>\n
\u201cPaternal source likely first-degree relative of R.H.S.\u201d<\/p>\n
R.H.S.<\/p>\n
Richard Henry Sterling.<\/p>\n
A first-degree relative.<\/p>\n
His father.<\/p>\n
His child.<\/p>\n
His sibling.<\/p>\n
Richard's father had been dead for years before our IVF treatment.<\/p>\n
His known sibling relationships were limited.<\/p>\n
His son was Carter.<\/p>\n
And Carter had just been excluded.<\/p>\n
I whispered, \u201cRichard has another son.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWe cannot conclude that yet.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe has a half brother.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cCould that man count?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNot as Richard's first-degree relative. A half sibling would ordinarily be second-degree.\u201d<\/p>\n
I sat on the bed.<\/p>\n
\u201cSo the paternal source would most likely be one of Richard's children.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cMost likely, based on that notation.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cCarter says he's Richard's only son.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cPublicly, yes.\u201d<\/p>\n
The word publicly lodged in my mind.<\/p>\n
Richard's family had already hidden one child in the previous generation.<\/p>\n
Maybe secrecy had become hereditary in ways no laboratory could measure.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhere is the original report?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cOakfield says it was removed from the main file.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBy whom?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThey don't know yet.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cSomeone always doesn't know.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI understand.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo, you document. I understand.\u201d<\/p>\n
That came out sharper than I intended.<\/p>\n
Dana did not react.<\/p>\n
\u201cI'm requesting server backups.\u201d<\/p>\n
I rubbed my forehead.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat exactly was tested?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBoth remaining embryos.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNot Chloe or Emma.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cCorrect.\u201d<\/p>\n
That distinction mattered.<\/p>\n
Chloe and Emma had been conceived before the later testing.<\/p>\n
If the frozen embryos had come from the same egg retrieval and sperm sample as the embryos used for my daughters, then logically the same paternal source should apply to all four.<\/p>\n
Logically.<\/p>\n
But I was learning not to trust assumptions.<\/p>\n
\u201cCould the sample have been changed between fertilizations?\u201d<\/p>\n
Dana said, \u201cI asked an independent reproductive specialist that question.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIn a standard cycle, the same collected sperm specimen would typically be used for the cohort unless there was a documented reason otherwise.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWas there?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNot in the records we have.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cSo Chloe and Emma may not be genetically Carter's either.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
I looked toward the door.<\/p>\n
On the other side of the house, the girls were laughing.<\/p>\n
My daughters had spent their lives carrying the Sterling name.<\/p>\n
Carter had judged them for being female.<\/p>\n
Richard had treated them as incomplete branches of his precious family tree.<\/p>\n
And neither man might be their biological father or grandfather in the way we had all believed.<\/p>\n
The irony would have been satisfying if my children were not inside it.<\/p>\n
\u201cDo not tell Carter yet.\u201d<\/p>\n
Dana was quiet.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe knows about the female embryo.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe does not know about the paternity result.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cCorrect.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cGood.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou want to confirm first.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI want to know who the biological father is before Carter turns this into another family crisis that lands on my daughters.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThat makes sense.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cCan we test Chloe and Emma?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes, with appropriate consent.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWould that help?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIt could establish whether they share the same paternal source.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI'll do it.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou don't have to decide immediately.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI already decided.\u201d<\/p>\n
I had spent years allowing other people to decide when I deserved truth.<\/p>\n
That period was over.<\/p>\n
When I returned to the kitchen, Rachel saw my face and sent the girls upstairs to choose a movie.<\/p>\n
Chloe protested.<\/p>\n
Rachel bribed her with popcorn.<\/p>\n
Five minutes later, we were alone.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\n
I sat.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe embryos weren't Carter's.\u201d<\/p>\n
Rachel stared at me.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat do you mean?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThe genetic report says I was the mother, but Carter was not the father.\u201d<\/p>\n
She blinked slowly.<\/p>\n
\u201cCould the clinic have made a mistake?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDo you think they did?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI don't know.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWho was the father?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cSomeone closely related to Richard.\u201d<\/p>\n
Rachel lowered herself into the chair across from me.<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cCarter has a brother?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNot that I know of.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHalf brother?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cMaybe.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cLauren, could Richard\u2014\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
The answer came too quickly.<\/p>\n
Rachel stopped.<\/p>\n
I realized I had rejected the possibility because I could not bear it, not because evidence ruled it out.<\/p>\n
Dr. Vale's note said a first-degree relative.<\/p>\n
Richard himself could not be his own relative.<\/p>\n
So no.<\/p>\n
Not Richard.<\/p>\n
But one of his children.<\/p>\n
\u201cNot Richard,\u201d I said more carefully. \u201cThe report suggests one of his first-degree relatives.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhich includes Carter.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBut excludes him.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThen another child.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
Rachel leaned back.<\/p>\n
\u201cDoes Carter know?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAre you going to tell him?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNot yet.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cGood.\u201d<\/p>\n
I looked at her.<\/p>\n
She raised her hands.<\/p>\n
\u201cI'm not saying hide it forever. I'm saying Carter has demonstrated that information and judgment are not close friends.\u201d<\/p>\n
Despite everything, I laughed.<\/p>\n
It was brief.<\/p>\n
Necessary.<\/p>\n
Then Rachel's expression softened.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat about Chloe and Emma?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWe'll test them.\u201d<\/p>\n
Her face changed.<\/p>\n
\u201cOh, Lauren.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI need to know.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI know.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat scares me isn't finding out Carter isn't their biological father.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat scares you?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThat someone deliberately used another man's sperm.\u201d<\/p>\n
The possibility had been sitting beneath everything since Dana's call.<\/p>\n
A laboratory mistake would be awful.<\/p>\n
A deliberate substitution would be something else entirely.<\/p>\n
\u201cRichard tested the embryos years later,\u201d I said. \u201cThat means he suspected something.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cMaybe he already knew.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cMaybe.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd if he knew, why preserve them?\u201d<\/p>\n
That was the question.<\/p>\n
If Richard believed the embryos had been created through an error, why secretly pay for their storage?<\/p>\n
Why test them?<\/p>\n
Why transfer the female embryo?<\/p>\n
Why allow Carter and Jessica to use the male one?<\/p>\n
Unless the biological father mattered to him more than Carter did.<\/p>\n
My phone buzzed.<\/p>\n
A message from Carter.<\/p>\n
Found Marianne's settlement agreement.<\/p>\n
I showed Rachel.<\/p>\n
\u201cCall him,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
I did.<\/p>\n
Carter answered instantly.<\/p>\n
\u201cI have it.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat does it say?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cMostly confidentiality clauses.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAbout the embryo?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo. It doesn't mention embryos.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThen why was she paid?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIt says resolution of employment-related claims.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat claims?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNot specified.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cConvenient.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThere is an attachment.\u201d<\/p>\n
My pulse quickened.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat attachment?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cA schedule of obligations.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cRead it.\u201d<\/p>\n
He shuffled papers.<\/p>\n
\u201cSterling Family Holdings agrees to provide monthly medical and living expenses for Marianne for five years.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThat matches what Dana found.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAnything else?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cPrivate health insurance.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAnything about a child?\u201d<\/p>\n
A pause.<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
My fingers tightened.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cEducational expenses for one dependent minor.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cName?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBlank.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBlank?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThe field is blank.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWho signed?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDad.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cMarianne?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAnyone else?\u201d<\/p>\n
Another pause.<\/p>\n
\u201cDr. Vale.\u201d<\/p>\n
I stood.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe geneticist?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat was he doing on an employment settlement?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI don't know.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIs he listed as witness?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat then?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cMedical consultant.\u201d<\/p>\n
My stomach tightened.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat medical matter?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNot specified.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cCarter, photograph every page.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI already did.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cSend them to Dana.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou gave me her number?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI'll send it.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cLauren.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy does Vale matter?\u201d<\/p>\n
I hesitated.<\/p>\n
Too long.<\/p>\n
Carter noticed.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat do you know?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNot enough.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDon't do that.\u201d<\/p>\n
I almost laughed.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou have no standing to complain about withheld information.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI know.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThen don't.\u201d<\/p>\n
He lowered his voice.<\/p>\n
\u201cIs this about the embryo tests?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat did they show?\u201d<\/p>\n
I could have lied.<\/p>\n
Instead I said, \u201cI'm confirming them.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cConfirming what?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI'll tell you when I know.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cLauren.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
He exhaled sharply.<\/p>\n
\u201cFine.\u201d<\/p>\n
I heard something in the background.<\/p>\n
A door.<\/p>\n
Then Carter said, \u201cWait.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThere are handwritten notes in the agreement file.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhose handwriting?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cMy father's, I think.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat do they say?\u201d<\/p>\n
He went quiet.<\/p>\n
\u201cCarter.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cOne line says M.E. understands lineage status.\u201d<\/p>\n
My skin prickled.<\/p>\n
\u201cRead the rest.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAnother says child not for public recognition.\u201d<\/p>\n
Rachel's eyes widened when I repeated it aloud.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnything else?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
Carter's voice changed.<\/p>\n
\u201cPayment contingent on confidentiality regarding donor source.\u201d<\/p>\n
Donor source.<\/p>\n
Not father.<\/p>\n
Donor.<\/p>\n
\u201cSend it now.\u201d<\/p>\n
My phone buzzed moments later.<\/p>\n
Photographs arrived one by one.<\/p>\n
The pages were old scans, some slightly crooked.<\/p>\n
I enlarged the handwritten notes.<\/p>\n
R.H.S.<\/p>\n
Richard's initials appeared beside several entries.<\/p>\n
One phrase had been underlined twice.<\/p>\n
DONOR SOURCE TO REMAIN SEALED.<\/p>\n
My stomach turned.<\/p>\n
This was no accidental laboratory mix-up.<\/p>\n
Somebody had known there was a donor.<\/p>\n
Perhaps Richard.<\/p>\n
Perhaps Dr. Vale.<\/p>\n
Perhaps Marianne.<\/p>\n
But I had never consented to donor sperm.<\/p>\n
Carter called again.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou saw it?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDonor source.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat the hell does that mean?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou tell me.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI didn't agree to donor sperm.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNeither did I.\u201d<\/p>\n
Silence.<\/p>\n
Then Carter said, \u201cCould this have happened during our IVF?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThat is what we're trying to establish.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy would anyone do that?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI don't know.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cCould your doctor have decided my sample wasn't good enough?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe couldn't legally substitute another man's sperm without consent.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI know that.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThen stop searching for an innocent explanation.\u201d<\/p>\n
Carter became quiet.<\/p>\n
\u201cWho knew?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cRichard knew enough to test the embryos years later.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou think my father knew the whole time?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI think he knew more than either of us.\u201d<\/p>\n
Carter swore.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe encouraged us to use Oakfield.\u201d<\/p>\n
I stopped.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou remember.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes. When we started looking at clinics, Dad recommended Oakfield.\u201d<\/p>\n
I searched my memory.<\/p>\n
Carter had handled many of the appointments in the beginning because I was working long hours.<\/p>\n
I remembered Richard saying Oakfield had \u201cexcellent people.\u201d<\/p>\n
At the time, it had seemed like ordinary advice from a wealthy man accustomed to recommending specialists.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy Oakfield?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe said a business associate had used them.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWho?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI don't remember.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cFind out.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI will.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd find everything Richard has with Vale's name.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cOkay.\u201d<\/p>\n
The call ended.<\/p>\n
Dana contacted me half an hour later.<\/p>\n
She had received Carter's photographs.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe donor notation matters,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
\u201cNo kidding.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIt may explain the kinship testing.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHow?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIf Richard knew donor sperm had been used, he may have wanted to confirm the donor was genetically connected to his family.\u201d<\/p>\n
I felt cold.<\/p>\n
\u201cSo someone deliberately used sperm from another Sterling.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThat is one possibility.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWe need more.\u201d<\/p>\n
I hated that phrase.<\/p>\n
More evidence.<\/p>\n
More documents.<\/p>\n
More pieces of a life I thought belonged to me.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat about Dr. Vale?\u201d<\/p>\n
Dana said, \u201cHe retired six years ago.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAlive?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhere?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cArizona.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cCan we contact him?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWe can.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDo it.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWe already have.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe refused to discuss Oakfield patients without legal authorization.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThen get it.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWe're working on that.\u201d<\/p>\n
I paced.<\/p>\n
\u201cCan you find Richard's other children?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cPublicly, Carter is his only acknowledged child.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAcknowledged.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou noticed that too.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI did.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cSearch deeper.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWe are.\u201d<\/p>\n
That afternoon, a mobile nurse came to Rachel's house to collect cheek-swab samples from me, Chloe, and Emma.<\/p>\n
I did not explain genetics to the girls.<\/p>\n
I told them the test would help clarify old medical records.<\/p>\n
Chloe watched me too carefully.<\/p>\n
\u201cDoes this have to do with Dad?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIs he sick?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAre we?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
She relaxed slightly.<\/p>\n
Emma thought the swab tickled.<\/p>\n
Afterward, they went upstairs.<\/p>\n
The nurse sealed the samples.<\/p>\n
Watching her place Chloe's and Emma's names on separate labels affected me more than I expected.<\/p>\n
Two children.<\/p>\n
Two lives.<\/p>\n
Whatever the laboratory said, nothing would alter who they were to me.<\/p>\n
I signed the chain-of-custody form.<\/p>\n
At 4:32, Dana sent me a message.<\/p>\n
We found a second Richard Sterling child reference.<\/p>\n
My heart jumped.<\/p>\n
I called.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat reference?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAn old civil filing from twenty-eight years ago.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cChild support?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cSealed paternity proceeding.\u201d<\/p>\n
I sat slowly.<\/p>\n
\u201cSealed?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cMostly.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWho filed?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cA woman named Evelyn Mercer.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAgainst Richard?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cOutcome?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cConfidential settlement.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cChild?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cMale.\u201d<\/p>\n
My pulse accelerated.<\/p>\n
\u201cName?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThe child's name was later changed.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cTo what?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWe're tracing it.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHow old would he be?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cApproximately thirty-four.\u201d<\/p>\n
Younger than Carter.<\/p>\n
Old enough to have been a sperm donor during our IVF treatment.<\/p>\n
\u201cDid Carter know?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cUnknown.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDid Richard acknowledge him?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNot publicly.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhere is Evelyn?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDeceased.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd the son?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWe're looking.\u201d<\/p>\n
I stared at nothing.<\/p>\n
Richard's hidden son.<\/p>\n
Possibly the biological father of four embryos created with my eggs.<\/p>\n
Possibly Chloe's father.<\/p>\n
Emma's father.<\/p>\n
Grace's father.<\/p>\n
The unborn boy's father.<\/p>\n
\u201cDana.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cFind him before Richard knows we've found the filing.\u201d<\/p>\n
There was a pause.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe may already be too late.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat does that mean?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cSomeone requested access to the same archived case this morning.\u201d<\/p>\n
My skin prickled.<\/p>\n
\u201cWho?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThe request came through a law firm.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cRichard's?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWe're checking.\u201d<\/p>\n
I looked at the photographs of the handwritten settlement notes.<\/p>\n
Donor source to remain sealed.<\/p>\n
Richard had built secrecy around a man whose DNA might now connect four children across two states.<\/p>\n
And if someone else was already opening that old court file, we were not the only ones searching for him.<\/p>\n
For several seconds after Dana spoke, I heard nothing except the faint hum of Rachel's refrigerator from the other room. The embryos were mine. They were not genetically Carter's. Yet … <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":27718,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-27727","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\/27727","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=27727"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27727\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":27762,"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27727\/revisions\/27762"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/27718"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=27727"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=27727"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=27727"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}