Nicole Harris's sister lived in Aurora.<\/p>\n
Cole called Claire that afternoon and asked whether she knew the woman.<\/p>\n
Claire did not.<\/p>\n
Her name was Rebecca Harris, forty-two, an elementary-school counselor, widowed, no criminal record, no known connection to Ryan beyond Nicole's employment with Patricia.<\/p>\n
Cole told Claire one other thing.<\/p>\n
Rebecca had kept Nicole's papers.<\/p>\n
"What papers?" Claire asked.<\/p>\n
"Personal files. Journals. Some correspondence."<\/p>\n
"Did she know about Westbridge?"<\/p>\n
"Not until we asked."<\/p>\n
Claire felt the familiar mix of urgency and dread.<\/p>\n
"Can I speak to her?"<\/p>\n
"Not yet."<\/p>\n
"Why?"<\/p>\n
"Because we're interviewing her first."<\/p>\n
Claire bit back frustration.<\/p>\n
Cole continued.<\/p>\n
"If she consents later, that's different."<\/p>\n
That evening, Megan called while Claire was cooking.<\/p>\n
Lily could be heard banging something rhythmically in the background.<\/p>\n
Claire turned off the stove.<\/p>\n
"Is everything okay?"<\/p>\n
"Yes."<\/p>\n
Megan hesitated.<\/p>\n
"I wanted to tell you before Ryan does."<\/p>\n
Claire leaned against the counter.<\/p>\n
"Tell me what?"<\/p>\n
"He filed for temporary sole decision-making authority over Lily."<\/p>\n
Claire shut her eyes.<\/p>\n
"On what basis?"<\/p>\n
"That I've been cooperating with you against his wishes."<\/p>\n
"That's not a legal basis."<\/p>\n
"I know."<\/p>\n
"What does your lawyer say?"<\/p>\n
"That he's trying to establish control before your parentage case gets further."<\/p>\n
Claire looked toward the darkened window.<\/p>\n
"Did he ask to restrict my visits?"<\/p>\n
"Yes."<\/p>\n
Her chest tightened.<\/p>\n
"And?"<\/p>\n
"The court hasn't ruled."<\/p>\n
Claire let out a slow breath.<\/p>\n
"When is the next visit scheduled?"<\/p>\n
"Friday."<\/p>\n
"Still happening?"<\/p>\n
"My lawyer says yes unless there's an order stopping it."<\/p>\n
Claire nodded.<\/p>\n
"Okay."<\/p>\n
Megan became quiet.<\/p>\n
Then she said, "Claire?"<\/p>\n
"Yes?"<\/p>\n
"I'm sorry."<\/p>\n
Claire did not answer immediately.<\/p>\n
"For which part?"<\/p>\n
Megan inhaled shakily.<\/p>\n
"All of it."<\/p>\n
Claire looked down at the cooling pan on the stove.<\/p>\n
A year ago, she would have desperately wanted those words.<\/p>\n
Now they felt insufficient and necessary at the same time.<\/p>\n
"I believe you're sorry."<\/p>\n
Megan started crying.<\/p>\n
Claire continued.<\/p>\n
"That doesn't mean I know what to do with it yet."<\/p>\n
"I understand."<\/p>\n
"I'm glad."<\/p>\n
The next morning Angela called before eight.<\/p>\n
"Rebecca Harris agreed to speak with us after Detective Cole finishes."<\/p>\n
Claire sat up in bed.<\/p>\n
"When?"<\/p>\n
"Eleven."<\/p>\n
Rebecca chose Angela's office rather than the police station.<\/p>\n
When Claire arrived, a woman with Nicole's eyes was sitting near the conference-room window holding a cardboard storage box.<\/p>\n
Rebecca stood.<\/p>\n
"Claire?"<\/p>\n
"Yes."<\/p>\n
They shook hands.<\/p>\n
Rebecca's grip was warm and firm.<\/p>\n
"I'm sorry we're meeting because of this."<\/p>\n
"So am I."<\/p>\n
They sat.<\/p>\n
Cole remained at the far end of the table, present with Rebecca's permission.<\/p>\n
Rebecca placed both hands on the box.<\/p>\n
"My sister didn't tell me everything about Patricia."<\/p>\n
Claire watched her carefully.<\/p>\n
"What did she tell you?"<\/p>\n
"That working for her was exhausting."<\/p>\n
A faint, sad smile appeared.<\/p>\n
"That part wasn't a secret."<\/p>\n
Claire almost smiled.<\/p>\n
Rebecca opened the box.<\/p>\n
"Nicole was organized. Obsessively organized. She kept copies of important emails, contracts, receipts, even handwritten notes."<\/p>\n
Angela asked, "Why?"<\/p>\n
"Because Patricia blamed people when things went wrong."<\/p>\n
Claire believed that immediately.<\/p>\n
Rebecca removed a folder.<\/p>\n
"About sixteen months before Nicole quit, she told me Patricia had offered her money."<\/p>\n
Claire's pulse quickened.<\/p>\n
"For what?"<\/p>\n
Rebecca looked directly at her.<\/p>\n
"To carry a baby."<\/p>\n
The room became silent.<\/p>\n
Claire felt suddenly aware of the air-conditioning hum.<\/p>\n
"What did Nicole say?"<\/p>\n
"At first she thought Patricia was joking."<\/p>\n
Rebecca folded her hands.<\/p>\n
"Nicole had mentioned that she loved being pregnant. She has\u2014had\u2014two children. Easy pregnancies. Patricia apparently remembered."<\/p>\n
"Did she know whose baby?"<\/p>\n
"Eventually."<\/p>\n
Claire's stomach tightened.<\/p>\n
"Mine."<\/p>\n
Rebecca nodded.<\/p>\n
"Yours and Ryan's."<\/p>\n
Claire looked down.<\/p>\n
There it was.<\/p>\n
The first plan.<\/p>\n
Not theoretical.<\/p>\n
Not abstract research.<\/p>\n
Nicole.<\/p>\n
"Did Nicole agree?"<\/p>\n
"No."<\/p>\n
"Immediately?"<\/p>\n
"Not immediately."<\/p>\n
That surprised Claire.<\/p>\n
Rebecca opened the folder.<\/p>\n
"She considered it."<\/p>\n
"Why?"<\/p>\n
"Money."<\/p>\n
There was no judgment in Rebecca's voice.<\/p>\n
"Patricia offered enough to pay off Nicole's mortgage."<\/p>\n
Claire swallowed.<\/p>\n
"How much?"<\/p>\n
"One hundred and twenty thousand dollars."<\/p>\n
Angela looked sharply toward Cole.<\/p>\n
Rebecca continued.<\/p>\n
"Nicole was divorced. Her ex-husband was behind on support. She was scared about money."<\/p>\n
Claire imagined Nicole sitting across from Patricia, calculating tuition, mortgage payments, childcare.<\/p>\n
"Did Patricia say I agreed?"<\/p>\n
"Nicole said Patricia told her you and Ryan were discussing options."<\/p>\n
Claire felt anger rise.<\/p>\n
Of course.<\/p>\n
Always enough truth to make the lie plausible.<\/p>\n
"What happened?"<\/p>\n
"Nicole asked to speak to you."<\/p>\n
Claire looked up.<\/p>\n
Rebecca nodded.<\/p>\n
"That's when Patricia changed."<\/p>\n
"How?"<\/p>\n
"She told Nicole that contacting you directly would upset you. She said you were emotionally fragile."<\/p>\n
Claire closed her eyes.<\/p>\n
The phrase again.<\/p>\n
Emotionally unstable.<\/p>\n
Emotionally fragile.<\/p>\n
Her grief had become Patricia's universal permission slip.<\/p>\n
Rebecca took out a letter.<\/p>\n
"This is what matters."<\/p>\n
Claire stared at the envelope.<\/p>\n
Her name was written on the front.<\/p>\n
CLAIRE BENNETT.<\/p>\n
"Nicole wrote this?"<\/p>\n
"Yes."<\/p>\n
"When?"<\/p>\n
"The week she quit."<\/p>\n
Claire's fingers went cold.<\/p>\n
Rebecca pushed the envelope toward her.<\/p>\n
"She never sent it."<\/p>\n
"Why?"<\/p>\n
"I don't know."<\/p>\n
Claire looked at Cole.<\/p>\n
He nodded slightly.<\/p>\n
Rebecca said, "You can read it."<\/p>\n
Claire opened the envelope.<\/p>\n
The letter was handwritten.<\/p>\n
Claire,<\/p>\n
You don't know me well enough for this to make sense, but I think you need to know what Patricia has been asking me to do.<\/p>\n
Claire stopped.<\/p>\n
Her vision blurred.<\/p>\n
Angela waited.<\/p>\n
Claire forced herself to continue.<\/p>\n
Nicole described Patricia's offer.<\/p>\n
The consultations.<\/p>\n
The questions about embryo transfer.<\/p>\n
Patricia insisting that Claire's consent was "a formality" that Ryan would handle.<\/p>\n
Then came the sentence that made Claire grip the page harder.<\/p>\n
Patricia says Ryan knows about the plan now and thinks it may be easier if you believe the carrier is someone you don't know.<\/p>\n
Claire whispered, "Ryan knew."<\/p>\n
Cole said nothing.<\/p>\n
Claire kept reading.<\/p>\n
Nicole had eventually refused.<\/p>\n
Not because of the money.<\/p>\n
Not because of pregnancy.<\/p>\n
Because Patricia would not allow her to speak directly to Claire.<\/p>\n
Nicole wrote that she became convinced Claire did not know.<\/p>\n
Then another paragraph.<\/p>\n
Ryan came to Patricia's house last Thursday. I heard them argue. He said if I wouldn't do it, they needed someone Claire already trusted because it would make the transition easier later.<\/p>\n
Claire stopped breathing for a moment.<\/p>\n
Megan.<\/p>\n
Angela leaned closer.<\/p>\n
"Keep going."<\/p>\n
Claire read.<\/p>\n
Patricia told him that was dangerous. Ryan said he already had someone in mind.<\/p>\n
Claire lowered the letter.<\/p>\n
Rebecca's eyes were wet.<\/p>\n
"That's why Nicole quit."<\/p>\n
Claire looked at her.<\/p>\n
"Because she knew?"<\/p>\n
"She told me she couldn't work for someone who talked about another woman's embryos like they were property."<\/p>\n
The words hurt more because they came from someone only tangentially involved.<\/p>\n
Someone outside the marriage had seen what Claire herself had not.<\/p>\n
Rebecca removed another document.<\/p>\n
"A week after Nicole quit, Patricia sent her this."<\/p>\n
It was an email.<\/p>\n
Patricia's tone was cold and formal.<\/p>\n
It accused Nicole of violating confidentiality and warned her not to discuss "private reproductive planning involving the Parker family."<\/p>\n
At the bottom, Patricia reminded Nicole that her employment agreement contained a nondisclosure clause.<\/p>\n
Angela said, "That clause wouldn't cover concealment of unlawful conduct."<\/p>\n
Rebecca shrugged.<\/p>\n
"Nicole wasn't a lawyer."<\/p>\n
Claire looked at the letter again.<\/p>\n
"Why didn't she send this to me?"<\/p>\n
Rebecca's face tightened.<\/p>\n
"She was afraid."<\/p>\n
"Of Patricia?"<\/p>\n
"Of everyone."<\/p>\n
Rebecca took a breath.<\/p>\n
"She told me the Parkers had money, lawyers, connections. She thought if she got involved, they'd destroy her professionally."<\/p>\n
Claire looked down.<\/p>\n
She understood that fear too well.<\/p>\n
"Did Nicole ever speak to Ryan after quitting?"<\/p>\n
"Not that I know."<\/p>\n
"Megan?"<\/p>\n
"No."<\/p>\n
"Marissa?"<\/p>\n
Rebecca hesitated.<\/p>\n
"Yes."<\/p>\n
Cole leaned forward.<\/p>\n
"When?"<\/p>\n
"A few weeks after she quit."<\/p>\n
Claire looked at Rebecca.<\/p>\n
"Why?"<\/p>\n
"Nicole said Marissa called asking why she had backed out."<\/p>\n
Claire's pulse accelerated.<\/p>\n
"What did Nicole say?"<\/p>\n
"That there was nothing to back out of because Claire had never agreed."<\/p>\n
Angela and Cole exchanged a look.<\/p>\n
Rebecca continued.<\/p>\n
"Then Marissa asked whether Nicole had told you anything."<\/p>\n
"What did Nicole say?"<\/p>\n
"She lied. Said no."<\/p>\n
Claire looked at the letter.<\/p>\n
Technically true.<\/p>\n
She had written it.<\/p>\n
Never sent it.<\/p>\n
"What did Marissa do?"<\/p>\n
"Nicole said she sounded relieved."<\/p>\n
Cole wrote something down.<\/p>\n
Rebecca reached deeper into the box.<\/p>\n
"There's one more thing."<\/p>\n
She produced a small digital recorder.<\/p>\n
Claire stared.<\/p>\n
"Nicole used that for work sometimes."<\/p>\n
"Why do you have it?"<\/p>\n
"It was in the box from her office."<\/p>\n
Cole put on gloves before touching it.<\/p>\n
"Do you know what's on it?"<\/p>\n
Rebecca nodded.<\/p>\n
"I listened last night."<\/p>\n
Claire felt her heartbeat change.<\/p>\n
"What?"<\/p>\n
Rebecca looked at her.<\/p>\n
"A conversation between Nicole and Patricia."<\/p>\n
No one spoke.<\/p>\n
Rebecca continued.<\/p>\n
"It happened two days before Nicole quit."<\/p>\n
Cole asked, "Did Nicole record it without Patricia's knowledge?"<\/p>\n
"I think so."<\/p>\n
He nodded.<\/p>\n
Colorado's recording laws were not something Claire understood, but Cole did not appear alarmed.<\/p>\n
Rebecca said, "Patricia was angry because Nicole wouldn't agree to be the carrier."<\/p>\n
Claire stared at the recorder.<\/p>\n
"What else?"<\/p>\n
Rebecca hesitated.<\/p>\n
"Ryan comes into the conversation."<\/p>\n
"How?"<\/p>\n
"Patricia says Ryan has become impatient."<\/p>\n
Claire's mouth went dry.<\/p>\n
Rebecca looked down at the recorder.<\/p>\n
"Then she says something about Megan."<\/p>\n
Claire's entire body went still.<\/p>\n
"What?"<\/p>\n
Rebecca met her eyes.<\/p>\n
"She says, 'If Ryan insists on using Megan, then Claire can never know until it's done.'"<\/p>\n
The room seemed to disappear around the sentence.<\/p>\n
Claire had believed Ryan turned to Megan later.<\/p>\n
After Nicole refused.<\/p>\n
After the marriage deteriorated.<\/p>\n
But Nicole's recording placed Megan inside the plan before the divorce.<\/p>\n
Possibly before Ryan's affair became visible.<\/p>\n
Claire looked at Cole.<\/p>\n
"Can you play it?"<\/p>\n
He shook his head.<\/p>\n
"Not until we preserve and authenticate it."<\/p>\n
Rebecca touched Claire's arm.<\/p>\n
"I'm sorry."<\/p>\n
Claire stared at the letter.<\/p>\n
Ryan already had someone in mind.<\/p>\n
Megan.<\/p>\n
Her best friend.<\/p>\n
The woman sitting beside Claire after miscarriages, telling her to rest.<\/p>\n
The woman asking how the treatments worked.<\/p>\n
The woman Claire had trusted enough to hand a key to her home.<\/p>\n
A thought formed so slowly Claire initially rejected it.<\/p>\n
Then she asked.<\/p>\n
"Rebecca, when did Nicole write this letter exactly?"<\/p>\n
Rebecca checked the top of the page.<\/p>\n
"January twenty-third."<\/p>\n
Claire knew that date.<\/p>\n
She wished she didn't.<\/p>\n
January twenty-third was the night Megan came over with Thai food because Ryan was supposedly working late.<\/p>\n
The night Megan sat at Claire's kitchen table and asked whether frozen embryos could survive indefinitely.<\/p>\n
Claire had thought she was curious.<\/p>\n
Now she wondered whether Megan had already been asking for herself.<\/p>\n
Nicole Harris's sister lived in Aurora. Cole called Claire that afternoon and asked whether she knew the woman. Claire did not. Her name was Rebecca Harris, forty-two, an elementary-school counselor, … <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":27789,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-27799","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\/27799","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=27799"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27799\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":27834,"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27799\/revisions\/27834"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/27789"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=27799"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=27799"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=27799"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}