Jessica's attorney delivered her complete statement the next morning.<\/p>\n
Dana asked whether I wanted to read it.<\/p>\n
I said yes.<\/p>\n
Not because I wanted Jessica's excuses.<\/p>\n
Because I wanted the chronology.<\/p>\n
Dates had become more trustworthy than people.<\/p>\n
The statement began six months before Carter asked for divorce.<\/p>\n
Jessica had been consulting for Sterling on records modernization.<\/p>\n
Richard learned she previously worked in compliance technology for Oakfield.<\/p>\n
He asked her to review old archived billing records.<\/p>\n
She found references to my embryos.<\/p>\n
Or claimed she found them.<\/p>\n
The emails suggested Richard guided her directly toward them.<\/p>\n
He then told her Carter's marriage was \u201cfunctionally over.\u201d<\/p>\n
It wasn't.<\/p>\n
Troubled, yes.<\/p>\n
Strained, certainly.<\/p>\n
But we still shared a bed.<\/p>\n
Still planned school holidays.<\/p>\n
Still argued about whether to renovate the kitchen.<\/p>\n
Still believed, or at least I believed, that difficulty was not the same thing as ending.<\/p>\n
Richard turned possibility into inevitability because inevitability made manipulation easier.<\/p>\n
Jessica's statement said Richard told her Carter wanted a son but Lauren had refused further IVF.<\/p>\n
That part was true.<\/p>\n
What Richard omitted was why.<\/p>\n
After Emma's birth, I had nearly hemorrhaged.<\/p>\n
My recovery had been slow.<\/p>\n
I told Carter I was finished.<\/p>\n
He had said he understood.<\/p>\n
At least then.<\/p>\n
Richard apparently interpreted my medical boundary as an obstacle to be routed around.<\/p>\n
Jessica admitted Richard showed her the trust provisions involving male descendants.<\/p>\n
He suggested a son could transform Carter's position inside the company.<\/p>\n
She understood what that meant.<\/p>\n
Money.<\/p>\n
Influence.<\/p>\n
Security.<\/p>\n
She also admitted she was attracted to Carter before Richard began encouraging proximity.<\/p>\n
That mattered.<\/p>\n
Richard had manipulated.<\/p>\n
Jessica had still chosen.<\/p>\n
Both truths could coexist.<\/p>\n
Then I reached the paragraph that made me stop.<\/p>\n
Richard told Jessica the male embryo legally belonged to Carter.<\/p>\n
False.<\/p>\n
He told her my rights had terminated when I declined further storage decisions.<\/p>\n
False.<\/p>\n
He told her donor authorization covered future transfers.<\/p>\n
False.<\/p>\n
He told her the embryo was genetically Carter's.<\/p>\n
False.<\/p>\n
Jessica had entered the scheme knowingly.<\/p>\n
But not knowing everything.<\/p>\n
Richard layered lies according to what each person needed to believe.<\/p>\n
I called Dana.<\/p>\n
\u201cShe thought the embryo was Carter's.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cUntil when?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cApparently until we disclosed Adrian.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cShe never knew?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHer statement says no.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThat explains her reaction.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIt doesn't excuse using it.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
I appreciated that Dana never tried to flatten complicated guilt into innocence.<\/p>\n
Jessica had knowingly used an embryo created from my egg without asking me.<\/p>\n
Richard had lied about legal ownership and paternity.<\/p>\n
Both facts mattered.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat was the bargain?\u201d<\/p>\n
Dana knew which part I meant.<\/p>\n
\u201cRichard promised Carter would receive voting control of a Sterling subsidiary if Jessica produced a male child.\u201d<\/p>\n
My stomach tightened.<\/p>\n
\u201cProduced.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHis wording.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDid Carter know?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cJessica says no.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDo you believe her?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWe verify.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat did Jessica get?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cA consulting contract and potential trust benefits for the child.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cSo she knew money was attached.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDid Richard promise marriage?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cCarter?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cShe says Carter did.\u201d<\/p>\n
That hurt less than it once would have.<\/p>\n
The marriage had ended long before the paperwork.<\/p>\n
The betrayal involving the embryo mattered more now.<\/p>\n
At 10:14, Jessica's doctor called her.<\/p>\n
Then Dana called me.<\/p>\n
The prenatal genetic result was back.<\/p>\n
The unborn boy carried the cardiomyopathy variant.<\/p>\n
I sat.<\/p>\n
Of course.<\/p>\n
\u201cSame variant?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cFrom Adrian?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBut Adrian tested negative.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI know.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThen how?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWe need to slow down.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo. Adrian is the biological father according to the embryo records.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAccording to the embryo records.\u201d<\/p>\n
The phrase had become poison.<\/p>\n
\u201cJessica agreed to paternity testing.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cResults arrived with the genetic screen.\u201d<\/p>\n
I closed my eyes.<\/p>\n
\u201cTell me.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAdrian is excluded.\u201d<\/p>\n
For several seconds, I could not speak.<\/p>\n
\u201cWho?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThe paternal profile is consistent with Carter.\u201d<\/p>\n
My eyes opened.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cCarter is the biological father.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThat is impossible.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNot impossible.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThe embryo was created years ago.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cCarter's sperm supposedly wasn't used.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNot in the embryos Vale tested.\u201d<\/p>\n
I stood.<\/p>\n
\u201cSo there were more embryos.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cPotentially.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHow many?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWe're reconstructing it.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThe male embryo Jessica carries is actually Carter's?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd mine?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
My chest tightened.<\/p>\n
For all the weeks of believing Carter was not biologically related to any of the embryos, one existed.<\/p>\n
A son.<\/p>\n
The exact thing Richard had wanted.<\/p>\n
\u201cHow?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cVale's notes include one line we misinterpreted.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat line?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cCarter reserve attempt retained separately.\u201d<\/p>\n
My stomach dropped.<\/p>\n
\u201cExplain.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDuring your original cycle, Oakfield apparently attempted fertilization of at least one egg using Carter's sample before Richard's substitution protocol was fully implemented.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd it worked.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cApparently.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThen why tell us his sample failed?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cUnknown.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy hide the embryo?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cUnknown.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cSex?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cMale.\u201d<\/p>\n
Of course.<\/p>\n
\u201cGenetic testing?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cCardiomyopathy variant?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cPositive.\u201d<\/p>\n
There it was.<\/p>\n
Richard had a biological grandson from Carter.<\/p>\n
Male.<\/p>\n
But genetically risky.<\/p>\n
So he hid him.<\/p>\n
Used Adrian for the official cycle because Adrian tested negative under Vale's incomplete marker system.<\/p>\n
Then later tested alternative branches.<\/p>\n
The whole plan rearranged itself.<\/p>\n
\u201cRichard didn't preserve the male embryo because it was Adrian's,\u201d I said.<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe preserved it because it was Carter's.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd when Jessica used it, she believed that.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cShe was right about paternity.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cApparently.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDid Carter know?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWe're asking.\u201d<\/p>\n
I called him before Dana could stop me.<\/p>\n
\u201cIs Jessica's baby biologically yours?\u201d<\/p>\n
Silence.<\/p>\n
\u201cCarter.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI just found out.\u201d<\/p>\n
His voice sounded genuinely shocked.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou didn't know?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDid your father?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI don't know.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes, he did.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHow can you know?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause he hid the embryo for years.\u201d<\/p>\n
Carter breathed hard.<\/p>\n
\u201cMy son.\u201d<\/p>\n
The phrase made me flinch.<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd yours.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
Silence.<\/p>\n
The reality was almost unbearable.<\/p>\n
My genetic son.<\/p>\n
Carter's genetic son.<\/p>\n
Carried by Jessica after an unauthorized transfer.<\/p>\n
A child created during our marriage and hidden for years.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat happens now?\u201d Carter asked.<\/p>\n
\u201cI don't know.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cLauren\u2014\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI don't know.\u201d<\/p>\n
For once, that was enough.<\/p>\n
I ended the call.<\/p>\n
I needed time before anyone tried to define motherhood, fatherhood, custody, or rights.<\/p>\n
The baby was not a prize returning to the \u201ccorrect\u201d parents because DNA had shifted again.<\/p>\n
Jessica was pregnant.<\/p>\n
She had carried him.<\/p>\n
She had participated in wrongdoing.<\/p>\n
Carter had participated too.<\/p>\n
I had not consented at all.<\/p>\n
Law would have to untangle what biology could not.<\/p>\n
At noon, Dana received Vale's clarification.<\/p>\n
He remembered the embryo.<\/p>\n
More importantly, he remembered Richard's reaction when genetic testing showed the male embryo carried the suspected cardiac marker.<\/p>\n
Richard ordered it segregated.<\/p>\n
Not destroyed.<\/p>\n
Not disclosed.<\/p>\n
Stored under a separate code.<\/p>\n
When later testing suggested Adrian lacked the marker, Richard substituted Adrian's sperm for the remaining cycle embryos.<\/p>\n
Chloe and Emma resulted from that cohort.<\/p>\n
The female Adrian embryo was later destroyed.<\/p>\n
The male Adrian embryo had never been transferred to Jessica.<\/p>\n
It remained stored.<\/p>\n
I stared at Dana.<\/p>\n
\u201cStill?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhere?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cOakfield.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cSo there is another male embryo.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cMine and Adrian's.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
The inventory expanded again.<\/p>\n
Carter's male embryo: now Jessica's pregnancy.<\/p>\n
Adrian male embryo: still frozen.<\/p>\n
Adrian female embryo: destroyed.<\/p>\n
Chloe and Emma: Adrian.<\/p>\n
Hidden eggs: Daniel created Grace, Matthew created Ethan, Richard created founder embryo.<\/p>\n
One additional egg or sample still uncertain.<\/p>\n
Richard had built parallel lines.<\/p>\n
My reproductive material was the common denominator.<\/p>\n
I felt physically sick.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy me?\u201d<\/p>\n
I had asked versions of the question before.<\/p>\n
This time Dana answered differently.<\/p>\n
\u201cVale's notes say your genetic screening was unusually clean.\u201d<\/p>\n
I stared.<\/p>\n
\u201cClean.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou tested negative for the known family cardiac concerns and several recessive conditions.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cSo Richard selected me.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIt appears your marriage to Carter made you convenient, and your screening made you desirable as a maternal genetic source.\u201d<\/p>\n
I closed my eyes.<\/p>\n
Richard had approved of me when Carter brought me home.<\/p>\n
I once thought that approval meant acceptance.<\/p>\n
Now I wondered how early he had begun evaluating me.<\/p>\n
Health.<\/p>\n
Family history.<\/p>\n
Education.<\/p>\n
Fertility.<\/p>\n
A good match for the family.<\/p>\n
The phrase returned with new ugliness.<\/p>\n
At 1:30, Matthew joined a call with Dana and me.<\/p>\n
He had read Jessica's paternity result.<\/p>\n
\u201cSo Carter's child carries the variant.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd Ethan does.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cGrace does.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAdrian's daughters don't.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cChloe and Emma are negative.\u201d<\/p>\n
Matthew exhaled.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat tells us the mutation tracks through my father's side.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cLikely.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cRichard knew enough to see that eventually.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThen why preserve his own embryo?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause he carries it too.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cExactly.\u201d<\/p>\n
He frowned.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat doesn't make sense.\u201d<\/p>\n
I had been thinking the same thing.<\/p>\n
If Richard's goal was disease-free continuity, his own sperm was a poor final option.<\/p>\n
Unless Protocol C served a different purpose.<\/p>\n
Trust eligibility.<\/p>\n
Control.<\/p>\n
Founder status.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat does a biological son of Richard qualify for?\u201d I asked.<\/p>\n
Matthew went still.<\/p>\n
Dana looked at me.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThe trust. If Richard had another biological son.\u201d<\/p>\n
Matthew's expression changed.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe would be a direct descendant of Henry.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cSo?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe could inherit Richard's personal shares.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNot Robert's trust.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBut enough to affect company control?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cPotentially.\u201d<\/p>\n
There it was.<\/p>\n
Protocol C was not about replacing Ethan.<\/p>\n
It was about creating another voting bloc Richard could structure from birth.<\/p>\n
Richard's own son, born decades after his other children, with Richard controlling the trust around him.<\/p>\n
\u201cHow long could Richard control assets for a minor child?\u201d<\/p>\n
Dana answered cautiously.<\/p>\n
\u201cDepending on the trust structure, potentially for years.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cSo every pathway extended his influence.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
Carter's son.<\/p>\n
Matthew's son.<\/p>\n
Richard's own possible son.<\/p>\n
Different legal mechanisms.<\/p>\n
Same outcome.<\/p>\n
Richard remained central.<\/p>\n
At three, Sterling's board demanded Richard step aside temporarily pending investigation.<\/p>\n
He refused.<\/p>\n
The board voted.<\/p>\n
Carter voted with the majority.<\/p>\n
Richard was placed on administrative leave from executive authority.<\/p>\n
Not removed as trustee.<\/p>\n
Not yet.<\/p>\n
But locked out of operational control.<\/p>\n
Carter called afterward.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe looked at me like I killed him.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat did you feel?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cTerrified.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAnything else?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cRelieved.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cRemember that.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe said I chose strangers over family.\u201d<\/p>\n
I looked toward Chloe and Emma.<\/p>\n
\u201cNo. You chose evidence over obedience.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe doesn't see a difference.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThat is his problem.\u201d<\/p>\n
Carter was quiet.<\/p>\n
\u201cDid you hear about the baby?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI don't know what to do.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNeither do I.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI want to be his father.\u201d<\/p>\n
The sentence came softly.<\/p>\n
Not heir.<\/p>\n
Not son as proof.<\/p>\n
Father.<\/p>\n
I sat.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou have decisions to make before you earn the right to say that confidently.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI know.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cJessica carried him.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI know.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI did not consent to his transfer.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI know.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou did.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd you knew enough to know the transfer was wrong.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhatever happens, you do not get to use biology to erase your choices.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI won't.\u201d<\/p>\n
I wanted to believe him.<\/p>\n
I wasn't ready.<\/p>\n
At 5:20, Jessica asked to speak with me through Dana.<\/p>\n
I agreed.<\/p>\n
She appeared on screen pale and exhausted.<\/p>\n
\u201cI know he's Carter's.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI thought he was from the beginning.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cSo you lied when you acted surprised about Adrian.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI was surprised because I thought Richard had lied to me about everything.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe lied about most things.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBut not that.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
She pressed both hands over her stomach.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe's kicking.\u201d<\/p>\n
I looked away for a second.<\/p>\n
\u201cGood.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI know you hate me.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI don't spend enough time thinking about you to hate you.\u201d<\/p>\n
She absorbed that.<\/p>\n
\u201cI want to keep him.\u201d<\/p>\n
There it was.<\/p>\n
Direct.<\/p>\n
\u201cOkay.\u201d<\/p>\n
Her eyes widened.<\/p>\n
\u201cOkay?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou are telling me what you want.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThat doesn't mean I agree or disagree.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI thought you'd demand custody.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe is not a car.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI know.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDo you?\u201d<\/p>\n
She flinched.<\/p>\n
\u201cI carried him.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou're his genetic mother.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cCarter is his genetic father.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd I used an embryo that wasn't mine.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
Her voice broke.<\/p>\n
\u201cI love him.\u201d<\/p>\n
I believed that too.<\/p>\n
This story had become crowded with people who had done wrong things and still felt real love.<\/p>\n
That made everything harder.<\/p>\n
\u201cThen start making decisions that serve him rather than your position.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat does that mean?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cMedical monitoring. Full disclosure to doctors. Stop leaking information. Stop negotiating with Richard. Cooperate with the legal process.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI will.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd understand that I don't know what role I will seek in his life.\u201d<\/p>\n
Jessica started crying.<\/p>\n
\u201cI understand.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo, you don't. Neither do I.\u201d<\/p>\n
That was the truth.<\/p>\n
I was already mother to Chloe and Emma.<\/p>\n
Grace existed with Marianne.<\/p>\n
Ethan with Nicole.<\/p>\n
An unborn son with Jessica.<\/p>\n
Genetics tied me to all of them.<\/p>\n
But parenthood could not be assigned by DNA alone after the fact.<\/p>\n
Richard's greatest mistake had been believing blood automatically created ownership.<\/p>\n
I refused to repeat it.<\/p>\n
At 7:00, Dana received an order expanding the reproductive-material freeze.<\/p>\n
Every remaining embryo and stored gamete connected to my Oakfield cycle was locked pending review.<\/p>\n
Nothing could move.<\/p>\n
Nothing could be destroyed.<\/p>\n
Nothing could be transferred.<\/p>\n
For the first time since this began, Richard could not use another piece of my body.<\/p>\n
I thought that would feel like the end of something.<\/p>\n
Instead, Dana opened one final file from Vale.<\/p>\n
Her expression changed.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is the research-hold egg.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThe fourth hidden egg?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat happened to it?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cVale didn't keep it.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWho did?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cA university laboratory.\u201d<\/p>\n
My stomach tightened.<\/p>\n
\u201cFor research?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cApparently.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDid I consent?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo valid consent in the file.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWas it fertilized?\u201d<\/p>\n
Dana looked at the record.<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
Relief.<\/p>\n
Then she kept reading.<\/p>\n
\u201cBut tissue was extracted.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat does that mean?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cExperimental mitochondrial and nuclear-cell work.\u201d<\/p>\n
I stared.<\/p>\n
\u201cEnglish.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThey used your egg in research.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDestroyed?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cEventually.\u201d<\/p>\n
I exhaled.<\/p>\n
At least no child.<\/p>\n
Then Dana's eyes narrowed.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThere is a note.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cRead it.\u201d<\/p>\n
She did.<\/p>\n
Viable nuclear material preserved separately at request of RHS pending future technological capability.<\/p>\n
I stared at her.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat future capability?\u201d<\/p>\n
Dana shook her head.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe need a specialist.\u201d<\/p>\n
Richard had not only planned around the reproductive technology available at the time.<\/p>\n
He had preserved material for technology that did not yet exist.<\/p>\n
Even his contingencies had contingencies.<\/p>\n
Jessica's attorney delivered her complete statement the next morning. Dana asked whether I wanted to read it. I said yes. Not because I wanted Jessica's excuses. Because I wanted the … <\/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-27737","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\/27737","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=27737"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27737\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":27772,"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27737\/revisions\/27772"}],"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=27737"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=27737"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=27737"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}