Marianne Ellis appeared on screen at ten the next morning.<\/p>\n
She looked older than forty-nine.<\/p>\n
Not physically fragile.<\/p>\n
Tired.<\/p>\n
The kind of tired that seems built from years of looking over your shoulder.<\/p>\n
Grace was not visible.<\/p>\n
I was grateful for that.<\/p>\n
Dana had arranged the call through Marianne's attorney.<\/p>\n
Adrian joined.<\/p>\n
I joined.<\/p>\n
Carter was not invited.<\/p>\n
Neither was Richard.<\/p>\n
Marianne folded her hands on the table in front of her.<\/p>\n
\u201cLauren.\u201d<\/p>\n
I nodded.<\/p>\n
\u201cMarianne.\u201d<\/p>\n
Her eyes filled immediately.<\/p>\n
\u201cI've rehearsed apologizing to you for three years.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThat means you've known who I was for three years.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDid you know before the transfer?\u201d<\/p>\n
She closed her eyes.<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
The admission hurt less than I expected.<\/p>\n
Maybe because I had already run out of places for betrayal to land.<\/p>\n
\u201cDid you know the embryo was mine?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDid you believe I consented?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
Adrian shifted visibly.<\/p>\n
Dana remained still.<\/p>\n
I asked, \u201cThen why?\u201d<\/p>\n
Marianne looked down.<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause Richard had something on me.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cMy son.\u201d<\/p>\n
I frowned.<\/p>\n
\u201cGrace?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo. My older son.\u201d<\/p>\n
That was new.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe was twenty-two then. He had a gambling problem.\u201d<\/p>\n
Marianne swallowed.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe stole from Sterling.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHow much?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cA little over two hundred thousand dollars.\u201d<\/p>\n
Adrian's expression hardened.<\/p>\n
\u201cRichard threatened prosecution.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThen offered you a deal.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
My stomach turned.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat deal?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cCarry the embryo.\u201d<\/p>\n
No euphemism.<\/p>\n
No complicated explanation.<\/p>\n
A direct exchange.<\/p>\n
Her son's freedom for the use of her body.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy you?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI'd worked for Richard for years. He knew my medical history. I had been a surrogate once for my sister when I was younger.\u201d<\/p>\n
I stared.<\/p>\n
\u201cSo he knew you could carry a pregnancy.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy the female embryo?\u201d<\/p>\n
Marianne looked toward her attorney.<\/p>\n
The attorney nodded.<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause he needed a control.\u201d<\/p>\n
The word made no sense at first.<\/p>\n
\u201cA what?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cA comparison.\u201d<\/p>\n
I went cold.<\/p>\n
Adrian leaned forward.<\/p>\n
\u201cComparison for what?\u201d<\/p>\n
Marianne looked at him.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou.\u201d<\/p>\n
Adrian stopped moving.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cRichard didn't fully trust Dr. Vale's genetic conclusions.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAbout my paternity?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAbout everything.\u201d<\/p>\n
She continued.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe wanted a live-born child from one of the embryos to test over time.\u201d<\/p>\n
I felt nauseated.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou're saying Grace was created as a genetic experiment.\u201d<\/p>\n
Marianne flinched.<\/p>\n
\u201cRichard didn't use those words.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI don't care what words he used.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe believed there was a hereditary condition somewhere in the Sterling line.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat condition?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI don't know.\u201d<\/p>\n
Adrian's face changed.<\/p>\n
\u201cMy mother died from cardiomyopathy.\u201d<\/p>\n
Everyone went silent.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat?\u201d I asked.<\/p>\n
He looked at me.<\/p>\n
\u201cShe was fifty-three.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHereditary?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cPossibly. Doctors suggested genetic screening. I never did it.\u201d<\/p>\n
I thought of Dr. Vale.<\/p>\n
Hereditary disease.<\/p>\n
Kinship analysis.<\/p>\n
Richard's comment about needing to know what he was preserving.<\/p>\n
\u201cDid Richard know?\u201d Dana asked.<\/p>\n
Adrian nodded slowly.<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDid Evelyn have symptoms when you donated?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
My skin prickled.<\/p>\n
\u201cThen Richard may have wanted to know whether you carried it.\u201d<\/p>\n
Adrian's face went pale.<\/p>\n
\u201cBut why transfer an embryo to find out?\u201d<\/p>\n
Dana said, \u201cHe wouldn't need a pregnancy to establish whether an embryo carried a known genetic variant.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cUnless they didn't know the variant,\u201d Marianne said quietly.<\/p>\n
We turned toward her.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat do you mean?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cRichard said the testing was inconclusive.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBefore Grace.\u201d<\/p>\n
My heart pounded.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe said Vale could confirm lineage but couldn't rule out a family weakness.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cFamily weakness.\u201d<\/p>\n
Marianne gave a bitter smile.<\/p>\n
\u201cRichard's phrase.\u201d<\/p>\n
Of course.<\/p>\n
Disease became weakness.<\/p>\n
Children became heirs.<\/p>\n
Pregnancy became continuity.<\/p>\n
People became functions.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy choose the female embryo?\u201d I asked.<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause Richard didn't want to risk the male one.\u201d<\/p>\n
The answer was so monstrous in its simplicity that no one spoke.<\/p>\n
He had preserved the embryo he valued.<\/p>\n
Used the one he considered expendable.<\/p>\n
A girl.<\/p>\n
Again.<\/p>\n
I thought of Chloe and Emma.<\/p>\n
Of every comment about needing a boy.<\/p>\n
Of Carter telling me to take them.<\/p>\n
The pattern was not subtle anymore.<\/p>\n
It had simply been normalized for so long that we had mistaken it for tradition.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe wanted Grace born first,\u201d Marianne continued. \u201cHe planned medical monitoring.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWithout telling anyone why.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat happened after birth?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe arranged pediatric care.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cGenetic testing?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
Adrian stood.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat did it show?\u201d<\/p>\n
Marianne looked at him.<\/p>\n
\u201cI don't know.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou have to know something.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cRichard never gave me the report.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDid Grace have health problems?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo. She's healthy.\u201d<\/p>\n
Adrian sat again slowly.<\/p>\n
The relief on his face was immediate.<\/p>\n
I felt it too.<\/p>\n
Whatever our relationships were, Grace was a child.<\/p>\n
Health mattered more than the rest.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy did Richard continue paying you?\u201d I asked.<\/p>\n
\u201cConfidentiality.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd Grace's expenses.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDid he visit her?\u201d<\/p>\n
Marianne hesitated.<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
That surprised me.<\/p>\n
\u201cHow often?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cA few times a year.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAs her grandfather?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat did she call him?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cMr. Richard.\u201d<\/p>\n
Something about that hurt.<\/p>\n
A little girl visited by a man obsessed with her DNA but unwilling to acknowledge what she was to him.<\/p>\n
\u201cDid he care about her?\u201d<\/p>\n
Marianne's expression became complicated.<\/p>\n
\u201cIn his way.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThat answer usually means no.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe would bring books. Gifts. He paid attention to what she liked.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThen why hide her?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause she wasn't the child he wanted.\u201d<\/p>\n
Adrian closed his eyes.<\/p>\n
The truth filled the call.<\/p>\n
Grace had been useful.<\/p>\n
Not desired.<\/p>\n
At least not in the way a child deserves.<\/p>\n
Marianne continued.<\/p>\n
\u201cAfter her second birthday, Richard seemed satisfied.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAbout what?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI don't know.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDid the medical monitoring stop?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cMostly.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cSo she had served her purpose.\u201d<\/p>\n
Marianne began crying.<\/p>\n
\u201cI hate that I let it happen.\u201d<\/p>\n
I did not tell her it was okay.<\/p>\n
It wasn't.<\/p>\n
But coercion mattered.<\/p>\n
Her son had been used against her.<\/p>\n
Richard had built another trap.<\/p>\n
\u201cDid you ever try to tell me?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
I froze.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAbout a year after Grace was born.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHow?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI wrote you a letter.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI never received it.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI know.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHow do you know?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI gave it to Carter.\u201d<\/p>\n
The room seemed to tilt.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\n
Marianne looked frightened now.<\/p>\n
\u201cI went to his office.\u201d<\/p>\n
My voice became very quiet.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou told Carter about Grace?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI tried.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat exactly did you tell him?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThat I had information about one of the embryos.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe said he didn't want to discuss it.\u201d<\/p>\n
My stomach turned.<\/p>\n
\u201cDid you tell him there was a child?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNot immediately.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDid you eventually?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
The silence that followed was enormous.<\/p>\n
Adrian looked away.<\/p>\n
Dana's expression hardened.<\/p>\n
I whispered, \u201cCarter knew.\u201d<\/p>\n
Marianne shook her head quickly.<\/p>\n
\u201cI don't know how much he understood.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cTell me exactly.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI said, \u2018The female embryo wasn't destroyed. I carried her.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n
There was no ambiguity.<\/p>\n
Carter had known.<\/p>\n
At least three years ago, he had been told.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd what did he say?\u201d<\/p>\n
Marianne wiped her cheek.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe said his father had handled it.\u201d<\/p>\n
My hands became cold.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat else?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe said it was better if you never knew.\u201d<\/p>\n
I stopped breathing.<\/p>\n
There it was.<\/p>\n
The line between ignorance and participation.<\/p>\n
Carter had crossed it years ago.<\/p>\n
He had not arranged Grace's transfer.<\/p>\n
But he had learned afterward.<\/p>\n
And he chose silence.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy didn't you tell Dana this earlier?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI was afraid.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cOf Carter?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cOf Richard.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThen why now?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause Adrian contacted me.\u201d<\/p>\n
She looked toward him.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe told me Richard lied to him too.\u201d<\/p>\n
Adrian said nothing.<\/p>\n
Marianne continued.<\/p>\n
\u201cI realized none of us had the whole story.\u201d<\/p>\n
That was Richard's system.<\/p>\n
Fragmented truth.<\/p>\n
Everyone guilty enough to remain silent.<\/p>\n
Nobody informed enough to challenge him.<\/p>\n
My phone sat on the table beside me.<\/p>\n
Carter's name was suddenly intolerable.<\/p>\n
I wanted to call him immediately.<\/p>\n
Dana stopped me.<\/p>\n
\u201cLauren.\u201d<\/p>\n
She knew.<\/p>\n
\u201cNot yet.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe knew.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe knew Grace existed.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cFor three years.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd he let me believe the embryo had been destroyed.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
I stood.<\/p>\n
\u201cI need five minutes.\u201d<\/p>\n
I walked out of Rachel's office and into the backyard.<\/p>\n
The rain had stopped.<\/p>\n
Everything smelled damp and clean.<\/p>\n
An absurd contrast.<\/p>\n
Three years.<\/p>\n
Carter had known another biological child existed.<\/p>\n
He had looked at Emma every day.<\/p>\n
Chloe.<\/p>\n
Me.<\/p>\n
And decided silence was easier.<\/p>\n
Maybe because Grace was not legally ours.<\/p>\n
Maybe because she was female.<\/p>\n
Maybe because confronting Richard would cost him money.<\/p>\n
Probably all three.<\/p>\n
When I returned, Marianne was explaining Richard's recent panic.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe came to me two weeks ago.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBefore the divorce was final?\u201d Dana asked.<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe wanted me to sign a new confidentiality agreement.\u201d<\/p>\n
My pulse quickened.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat changed?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe said the male embryo was being used.\u201d<\/p>\n
Adrian's eyes narrowed.<\/p>\n
\u201cSo he knew about Jessica.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDid he say why that mattered?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe said everything had finally worked.\u201d<\/p>\n
Those words chilled me.<\/p>\n
\u201cWorked?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat exactly?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe said the line would continue properly.\u201d<\/p>\n
Properly.<\/p>\n
The son.<\/p>\n
The male heir.<\/p>\n
The embryo Richard had protected after using the female one as a test case.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat did you say?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI asked whether Lauren knew.\u201d<\/p>\n
Marianne looked at me.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe said you would never need to.\u201d<\/p>\n
My anger became strangely calm.<\/p>\n
\u201cDid he mention Carter's divorce?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat did he say?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThat once the divorce was complete, the complications would disappear.\u201d<\/p>\n
I stared at her.<\/p>\n
Complications.<\/p>\n
Me.<\/p>\n
Possibly Chloe and Emma.<\/p>\n
Not because we would cease existing.<\/p>\n
Because legal separation could make it easier for Richard to isolate the new boy as Carter's future heir.<\/p>\n
\u201cDid Richard plan the divorce?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDid he encourage it?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI don't know.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDid he know about Jessica before Carter told anyone?\u201d<\/p>\n
Marianne hesitated.<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
My skin prickled.<\/p>\n
\u201cHow?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe introduced them.\u201d<\/p>\n
The room went still.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\n
Marianne looked ashamed.<\/p>\n
\u201cJessica's consulting firm had worked with Sterling. Richard knew she had previously worked at Oakfield.\u201d<\/p>\n
I felt something inside me click into place.<\/p>\n
Richard had known Jessica's background.<\/p>\n
He knew she could access records.<\/p>\n
He knew Carter wanted approval.<\/p>\n
He knew the male embryo existed.<\/p>\n
He knew the trust.<\/p>\n
\u201cAre you saying Richard deliberately put Jessica near Carter?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI don't know what he intended.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDid he ever talk about them?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBefore they were together.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat did he say?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThat Jessica understood what the family needed.\u201d<\/p>\n
My mouth went dry.<\/p>\n
Adrian muttered, \u201cJesus.\u201d<\/p>\n
Richard had not merely reacted to Carter's affair.<\/p>\n
He may have cultivated it.<\/p>\n
Not necessarily ordered romance.<\/p>\n
But created proximity.<\/p>\n
Opportunity.<\/p>\n
Information.<\/p>\n
A woman with Oakfield knowledge.<\/p>\n
A son desperate for paternal approval.<\/p>\n
A hidden embryo.<\/p>\n
A trust rewarding a male heir.<\/p>\n
All the pieces had been placed.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat did Jessica know?\u201d I asked.<\/p>\n
Marianne shook her head.<\/p>\n
\u201cI don't know.\u201d<\/p>\n
That mattered.<\/p>\n
Jessica had admitted opportunism.<\/p>\n
But perhaps Richard had been manipulating her too.<\/p>\n
Dana asked, \u201cDo you have documentation?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cEmails.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cFrom Richard?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAbout Jessica?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cOne.\u201d<\/p>\n
My pulse jumped.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat does it say?\u201d<\/p>\n
Marianne looked toward her attorney, then read from a document.<\/p>\n
\u201cCarter will listen to her. She knows the clinic systems and understands discretion. If he wants what he says he wants, let him believe the idea is his.\u201d<\/p>\n
Nobody spoke.<\/p>\n
There was Richard's method in one sentence.<\/p>\n
Manipulation disguised as choice.<\/p>\n
\u201cDate?\u201d Dana asked.<\/p>\n
Marianne gave it.<\/p>\n
Six weeks before Carter first mentioned Jessica to me.<\/p>\n
I closed my eyes.<\/p>\n
Our marriage had been troubled then.<\/p>\n
But it had not ended.<\/p>\n
Richard had already begun arranging the next version of his family.<\/p>\n
I finally called Carter after the meeting.<\/p>\n
He answered softly.<\/p>\n
\u201cLauren.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDid Marianne tell you Grace existed?\u201d<\/p>\n
Silence.<\/p>\n
No confusion.<\/p>\n
No denial.<\/p>\n
Just silence.<\/p>\n
My last hope that she had misunderstood disappeared.<\/p>\n
\u201cYes,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
I gripped the phone.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThree years ago.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou told me you didn't know.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI panicked.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo. You lied.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cMy father told me it was complicated.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThere is that word again.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe said Grace wasn't legally ours.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cShe was genetically mine.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI know.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou knew then.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd you said nothing.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy?\u201d<\/p>\n
He breathed in.<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause I was afraid.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cOf what?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDad.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cMoney?\u201d<\/p>\n
Silence.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe company?\u201d<\/p>\n
Silence.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe trust?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAll of it.\u201d<\/p>\n
I shut my eyes.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd because she was a girl.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cTell me the truth once.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThat wasn't why.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThen if Grace had been the male embryo, would you have stayed silent?\u201d<\/p>\n
Nothing.<\/p>\n
Not one word.<\/p>\n
My answer.<\/p>\n
I whispered, \u201cYou knew what your father had done, and you still let him use the other embryo.\u201d<\/p>\n
Carter started crying.<\/p>\n
It was the first time I had heard him cry since his grandfather's funeral.<\/p>\n
\u201cI know.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou knew there was already one unauthorized transfer.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd later, when Jessica proposed using the male embryo, you agreed.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cKnowing Richard had stolen the first one.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
I had thought the affair was the deepest betrayal.<\/p>\n
Then the forged consent.<\/p>\n
Then Grace.<\/p>\n
But this was the center.<\/p>\n
Carter had discovered what his father had done.<\/p>\n
Instead of exposing him, he eventually copied him.<\/p>\n
Not because Richard forced him.<\/p>\n
Because once secrecy benefited Carter, he accepted the system.<\/p>\n
\u201cI don't know who you are,\u201d I said.<\/p>\n
\u201cI don't either.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThat's your problem now.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cLauren\u2014\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
I looked toward the living room where Chloe and Emma were playing.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou will not speak to the girls until we establish boundaries with attorneys and a therapist.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI understand.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou will not contact Marianne.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cOkay.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou will not contact Adrian.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cOkay.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd you will send Dana everything you have.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI already am.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cOne more thing.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIf Richard contacts you, record it.\u201d<\/p>\n
Carter became quiet.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause I think he has lost control.\u201d<\/p>\n
We ended the call.<\/p>\n
Five minutes later, Carter called back.<\/p>\n
I almost ignored him.<\/p>\n
Then answered.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\n
His voice was low.<\/p>\n
\u201cDad just texted me.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat did he say?\u201d<\/p>\n
Carter read it aloud.<\/p>\n
You don't understand what I saved you from. Bring the Continuity files to the house tonight and I will explain everything.<\/p>\n
My pulse slowed.<\/p>\n
Not deny.<\/p>\n
Explain.<\/p>\n
Richard believed he still had a justification.<\/p>\n
Those were often the most dangerous people.<\/p>\n
The ones who had done terrible things and built such careful reasons around them that they no longer recognized themselves as guilty.<\/p>\n
\u201cAre you going?\u201d<\/p>\n
Carter asked.<\/p>\n
I looked at Rachel.<\/p>\n
At the files.<\/p>\n
At the rain beginning again outside.<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cLauren, no.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNot alone.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWho?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDana will arrange it.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou don't know my father.\u201d<\/p>\n
I almost laughed.<\/p>\n
\u201cI know enough.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo. You don't.\u201d<\/p>\n
Something in his voice stopped me.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat haven't you told me?\u201d<\/p>\n
Carter hesitated.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere's another file in the archive.\u201d<\/p>\n
My skin prickled.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat file?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI found the index entry after we talked.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cName?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cContinuation Protocol B.\u201d<\/p>\n
The words made my stomach turn.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat is it?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI don't know. The folder is gone.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWho took it?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDad.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cToday.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWas there a date?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen?\u201d<\/p>\n
Carter told me.<\/p>\n
My breath caught.<\/p>\n
It was created two months after Grace was born.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat was Protocol B?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI don't know.\u201d<\/p>\n
Then he said the one thing that ensured I would not sleep that night.<\/p>\n
\u201cBut the index description says it involved contingency planning if the male embryo failed.\u201d<\/p>\n
Marianne Ellis appeared on screen at ten the next morning. She looked older than forty-nine. Not physically fragile. Tired. The kind of tired that seems built from years of looking … <\/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-27730","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\/27730","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=27730"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27730\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":27765,"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27730\/revisions\/27765"}],"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=27730"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=27730"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=27730"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}