{"id":30972,"date":"2026-10-05T19:32:02","date_gmt":"2026-10-05T19:32:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/?p=30972"},"modified":"2026-10-05T19:32:02","modified_gmt":"2026-10-05T19:32:02","slug":"part-38-miriams-secret-embryo-project-revealed-how-far-she-once-went-before-changing-course-and-why-sophie-had-never-been-the-first-intended-subject-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/?p=30972","title":{"rendered":"PART 38 \u2013 Miriam\u2019s Secret Embryo Project Revealed How Far She Once Went Before Changing Course, and Why Sophie Had Never Been the First Intended Subject"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Claire read her mother\u2019s name three times.<\/p>\n<p>MIRIAM MORGAN, PRINCIPAL SCIENTIFIC CONSULTANT.<\/p>\n<p>The embryology file was dated twelve years before Sophie\u2019s birth.<\/p>\n<p>Miriam had not merely studied family genetics.<\/p>\n<p>She had helped create embryos combining them.<\/p>\n<p>Rebecca refused to believe it.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThat contradicts everything in her later notebooks.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Arthur did not.<\/p>\n<p>His face told Claire before he spoke.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou knew.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cSome.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Claire stood.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHow much?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Arthur looked at Sophie.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cEnough that this should not be discussed casually.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Sophie rolled her eyes.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI&#39;m already here.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Claire almost sent her upstairs.<\/p>\n<p>Then stopped.<\/p>\n<p>No.<\/p>\n<p>Not automatically.<\/p>\n<p>She looked at Sophie.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou want to hear?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cTell me if you want to stop.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cOkay.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Arthur began.<\/p>\n<p>Before Miriam rejected permanent biological engineering, she believed the safest way to understand hereditary cancer might be before disease existed at all.<\/p>\n<p>Embryos.<\/p>\n<p>Not implantation initially.<\/p>\n<p>Laboratory observation.<\/p>\n<p>Miriam and Samuel both collaborated with a private reproductive-medicine program.<\/p>\n<p>Samuel studied the Hale mutation.<\/p>\n<p>Miriam studied the protective Morgan variants.<\/p>\n<p>Their hypothesis was that combining the two genetic backgrounds could reveal why protective pathways sometimes overcame inherited cancer risk.<\/p>\n<p>Rebecca looked disgusted.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cCreating embryos for research.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Arthur nodded.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cLegally?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAt the time, through private funding and consent structures that would not satisfy current standards.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Claire stared.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhose reproductive material?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Arthur hesitated.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cMiriam\u2019s.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Claire stopped breathing.<\/p>\n<p>Rebecca stood.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Their mother donated eggs.<\/p>\n<p>Samuel donated sperm.<\/p>\n<p>Sophie whispered, \u201cGrandma and Grandpa Samuel?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Daniel covered his face.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThis family tree needs professional assistance.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>No one laughed much.<\/p>\n<p>Arthur continued quickly.<\/p>\n<p>The embryos were created for research and were not supposed to be implanted.<\/p>\n<p>Miriam believed they would be studied only through early developmental stages.<\/p>\n<p>Then destroyed according to protocol.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat changed?\u201d Claire asked.<\/p>\n<p>Samuel answered from custody after being added to the call.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHelen Ward.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Ward and the reproductive clinic wanted longer developmental data.<\/p>\n<p>Miriam refused.<\/p>\n<p>Samuel did not refuse strongly enough.<\/p>\n<p>One embryo was preserved beyond the agreed period.<\/p>\n<p>Another was transferred.<\/p>\n<p>Claire stared.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cInto who?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Samuel looked down.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cA volunteer surrogate.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Rebecca went pale.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Arthur closed his eyes.<\/p>\n<p>The pregnancy ended at twelve weeks.<\/p>\n<p>The preserved sample Bell found came from that pregnancy.<\/p>\n<p>Miriam was furious.<\/p>\n<p>She ended the project.<\/p>\n<p>Withdrew her reproductive material.<\/p>\n<p>Demanded every remaining embryo be destroyed.<\/p>\n<p>Ward documented compliance.<\/p>\n<p>Claire already knew what came next.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThey weren&#39;t all destroyed.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Samuel whispered, \u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHow many?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cTwo remained.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Sophie leaned forward.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat happened to them?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Samuel did not know.<\/p>\n<p>Arthur looked toward Bell.<\/p>\n<p>His archive contained hints but not answers.<\/p>\n<p>Rebecca stared at her father.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou knew two embryos survived.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAnd never told Mom?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI told her one might.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat did she do?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cShe went after Ward.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>That confrontation contributed to the collapse of their professional relationship.<\/p>\n<p>Miriam learned how quickly research goals could transform potential children into scientific assets.<\/p>\n<p>Arthur believed that was one of the experiences that changed her ethical thinking completely.<\/p>\n<p>The later Miriam.<\/p>\n<p>The woman who wrote that patients were people before experiments.<\/p>\n<p>She had not begun there.<\/p>\n<p>Claire looked at Miriam\u2019s letter.<\/p>\n<p>The knowledge complicated it without invalidating it.<\/p>\n<p>Her mother\u2019s wisdom had been purchased through mistakes.<\/p>\n<p>Serious ones.<\/p>\n<p>Sophie said quietly, \u201cGrandma messed up worse than we thought.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes,\u201d Claire said.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cBut she stopped.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cEventually.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThat&#39;s better than not stopping.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Arthur looked toward her.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Bell searched the clinic archives.<\/p>\n<p>The facility closed years earlier.<\/p>\n<p>Remaining frozen inventory transferred twice.<\/p>\n<p>Final storage company later acquired by\u2014<\/p>\n<p>Claire sighed.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNorthStar.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Bell nodded.<\/p>\n<p>Of course.<\/p>\n<p>Adrian inherited the two embryos.<\/p>\n<p>Rebecca looked sick.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cDid he use them?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>No clear record.<\/p>\n<p>One identifier appeared.<\/p>\n<p>M-H 02.<\/p>\n<p>Status: DEVELOPMENTAL HOLD.<\/p>\n<p>Another:<\/p>\n<p>M-H 05.<\/p>\n<p>Status: TRANSFERRED EXTERNAL.<\/p>\n<p>Claire felt cold.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cTransferred where?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Unknown.<\/p>\n<p>Samuel had never seen these records.<\/p>\n<p>Ward initially denied knowledge.<\/p>\n<p>Bell showed her the identifiers.<\/p>\n<p>She began crying.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThat wasn&#39;t supposed to happen.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Claire stared.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou preserved them.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Ward admitted preserving two embryos because she believed Miriam would eventually reconsider.<\/p>\n<p>She never did.<\/p>\n<p>Years later Adrian discovered them.<\/p>\n<p>Ward claimed she told him to destroy them.<\/p>\n<p>He did not.<\/p>\n<p>Maya joined the conversation.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cDid Dad make a baby?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Nobody answered.<\/p>\n<p>Adrian was questioned.<\/p>\n<p>For once he replied immediately.<\/p>\n<p>Yes.<\/p>\n<p>M-H 05 had been transferred to a surrogate fourteen years earlier.<\/p>\n<p>A child was born.<\/p>\n<p>Claire stared.<\/p>\n<p>Another genetically manufactured child.<\/p>\n<p>Biological child of Miriam and Samuel.<\/p>\n<p>Technically half-sibling to Claire and Rebecca through Miriam.<\/p>\n<p>Half-sibling to Eric and Lydia through Samuel.<\/p>\n<p>Sophie looked at the ceiling.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Daniel whispered, \u201cDon&#39;t try the family tree.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat happened to the child?\u201d Bell asked.<\/p>\n<p>Adrian refused.<\/p>\n<p>Maya leaned toward the screen.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cDad.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>He looked at her.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWho?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Adrian said the child had been part of a separate program.<\/p>\n<p>Not NorthStar&#39;s main vector cohort.<\/p>\n<p>Raised away from the Hale and Morgan families.<\/p>\n<p>Observed genetically.<\/p>\n<p>Never treated with Samuel\u2019s neonatal vector.<\/p>\n<p>Rebecca stared.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThen what was the point?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cA natural control.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Claire felt nausea.<\/p>\n<p>A child created partly to function as comparison.<\/p>\n<p>No vector.<\/p>\n<p>No intervention.<\/p>\n<p>Simply watched.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat name?\u201d Claire asked.<\/p>\n<p>Adrian remained silent.<\/p>\n<p>Bell threatened legal consequences that barely mattered anymore.<\/p>\n<p>Maya asked instead.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cDid you love them?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Adrian looked startled.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe kid.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>His expression changed.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Maya nodded sadly.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThen it was easier.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Adrian looked away.<\/p>\n<p>Claire understood Maya&#39;s point.<\/p>\n<p>It was easier to turn someone into data if you never allowed relationship to interfere.<\/p>\n<p>Finally Adrian gave the name.<\/p>\n<p>Sarah Reed.<\/p>\n<p>Fourteen years old.<\/p>\n<p>Living with adoptive parents in Vermont.<\/p>\n<p>Claire closed her eyes.<\/p>\n<p>Another Reed.<\/p>\n<p>Another hidden identity.<\/p>\n<p>Bell located the family.<\/p>\n<p>This time federal agents did not arrive with weapons.<\/p>\n<p>A child-welfare specialist and genetic counselor contacted the parents.<\/p>\n<p>They had no idea Sarah was born from a research embryo.<\/p>\n<p>They believed her birth parents had relinquished her through a private adoption.<\/p>\n<p>The adoption agency had ties to Cross.<\/p>\n<p>Claire felt anger rise again.<\/p>\n<p>But Sarah was safe.<\/p>\n<p>That mattered first.<\/p>\n<p>Her parents asked for time before any contact.<\/p>\n<p>Claire agreed instantly.<\/p>\n<p>So did Rebecca.<\/p>\n<p>Sophie asked, \u201cCan I meet her?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cMaybe someday.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIf she wants.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Claire smiled.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Correct order.<\/p>\n<p>Sarah\u2019s parents were told enough to seek independent legal and medical advice.<\/p>\n<p>No blood samples requested.<\/p>\n<p>No testing demanded.<\/p>\n<p>Information first.<\/p>\n<p>Choice later.<\/p>\n<p>Sophie approved.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat about the other embryo?\u201d Daniel asked.<\/p>\n<p>M-H 02.<\/p>\n<p>Developmental hold.<\/p>\n<p>Adrian said he never transferred it.<\/p>\n<p>When NorthStar storage moved, Lydia took custody.<\/p>\n<p>Lydia was questioned.<\/p>\n<p>Her face changed.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt still exists.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Everyone went quiet.<\/p>\n<p>Frozen.<\/p>\n<p>Untransferred.<\/p>\n<p>An embryo created twelve years before Sophie\u2019s birth still remained in cryogenic storage.<\/p>\n<p>Claire felt disturbed in a completely different way.<\/p>\n<p>No child currently suffering.<\/p>\n<p>No emergency.<\/p>\n<p>A profound ethical decision nonetheless.<\/p>\n<p>Who had authority over it?<\/p>\n<p>Miriam was dead.<\/p>\n<p>Samuel alive but incarcerated.<\/p>\n<p>Arthur was Miriam\u2019s spouse at the time of creation but not genetic contributor.<\/p>\n<p>The original research consent had lapsed decades ago.<\/p>\n<p>The embryo had been preserved beyond agreed conditions.<\/p>\n<p>Sophie frowned.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIs it a person?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Nobody answered quickly.<\/p>\n<p>Dr. Shah declined.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThis isn&#39;t my specialty.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Good.<\/p>\n<p>A reproductive-ethics expert joined later.<\/p>\n<p>They explained legal and ethical questions varied by jurisdiction and contract.<\/p>\n<p>Claire did not want philosophy reduced to paperwork.<\/p>\n<p>Rebecca said, \u201cMom wanted them destroyed.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Samuel looked toward her.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cShe did later.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cDo you?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Samuel took a long time.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Claire looked surprised.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou&#39;re sure?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>At least he admitted it.<\/p>\n<p>He continued.<\/p>\n<p>The embryo had been created for research without any future child\u2019s consent.<\/p>\n<p>He no longer believed preserving it to satisfy scientific curiosity was defensible.<\/p>\n<p>Rebecca agreed.<\/p>\n<p>Arthur agreed.<\/p>\n<p>Claire hesitated.<\/p>\n<p>Not because she wanted implantation.<\/p>\n<p>Because destruction felt like another irreversible decision about potential life made by people who had already made too many.<\/p>\n<p>Sophie watched her.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou don&#39;t know.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThen wait.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Claire looked at her.<\/p>\n<p>The simplest principle again.<\/p>\n<p>If there was no emergency, uncertainty did not require immediate action.<\/p>\n<p>The embryo remained securely frozen under court supervision pending independent legal and ethical review.<\/p>\n<p>No research access.<\/p>\n<p>No transfer.<\/p>\n<p>No unilateral decision.<\/p>\n<p>Samuel accepted it.<\/p>\n<p>Weeks passed.<\/p>\n<p>Sophie\u2019s treatment continued.<\/p>\n<p>Her hair thinned more.<\/p>\n<p>She eventually let Daniel shave the remaining long sections.<\/p>\n<p>This time she shaved one strip of Claire&#39;s hair too because \u201csolidarity should be fair.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Claire regretted agreeing.<\/p>\n<p>Daniel thought it was hilarious.<\/p>\n<p>Sophie returned to school three mornings a week.<\/p>\n<p>Noah Patterson remained annoying.<\/p>\n<p>Good.<\/p>\n<p>Kevin\u2019s markers normalized.<\/p>\n<p>The residual mass continued shrinking.<\/p>\n<p>Dr. Shah used the phrase remission trajectory but refused to declare remission yet.<\/p>\n<p>Sophie demanded a simpler version.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cCancer is losing.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>That she accepted.<\/p>\n<p>Sarah\u2019s adoptive parents eventually agreed to a video conversation with Claire and Rebecca before involving Sarah directly.<\/p>\n<p>They were furious.<\/p>\n<p>Rightly.<\/p>\n<p>They feared the research families would claim Sarah.<\/p>\n<p>Claire answered immediately.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Rebecca nodded.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cShe is your daughter.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Biology did not erase parenthood.<\/p>\n<p>Daniel looked at Claire when she said it.<\/p>\n<p>Claire squeezed his hand.<\/p>\n<p>Sarah&#39;s mother asked whether Sarah was medically at risk.<\/p>\n<p>Possibly.<\/p>\n<p>She carried the Hale cancer mutation and Morgan protective variants by design.<\/p>\n<p>No experimental vector.<\/p>\n<p>Dr. Shah recommended ordinary genetic counseling through an independent institution.<\/p>\n<p>Not NorthStar-linked anyone.<\/p>\n<p>Sarah&#39;s parents agreed.<\/p>\n<p>Testing later confirmed the expected profile.<\/p>\n<p>No disease.<\/p>\n<p>No urgent abnormality.<\/p>\n<p>Sarah chose to learn the truth gradually.<\/p>\n<p>First that she was adopted.<\/p>\n<p>Then that unusual circumstances surrounded her conception.<\/p>\n<p>Her parents refused to dump decades of unethical research onto a fourteen-year-old in one afternoon.<\/p>\n<p>Claire respected that.<\/p>\n<p>One evening Sophie asked whether Sarah was her aunt.<\/p>\n<p>Claire stared at the ceiling.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cTechnically something like a great-aunt and half-aunt hybrid that I refuse to calculate.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Sophie smiled.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cSo family.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIf she wants.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Sophie was learning to add those words automatically.<\/p>\n<p>Then another result arrived.<\/p>\n<p>Not about Sarah.<\/p>\n<p>Not Sophie.<\/p>\n<p>The preserved embryo M-H 02 underwent only noninvasive record review.<\/p>\n<p>No new testing.<\/p>\n<p>Old embryology notes showed something unusual.<\/p>\n<p>The embryo had undergone one experimental edit before Miriam discovered Ward preserved it.<\/p>\n<p>Claire stared.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cEdited how?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Ward had attempted to insert Miriam\u2019s protective regulator.<\/p>\n<p>It failed according to the records.<\/p>\n<p>But Samuel noticed the technique.<\/p>\n<p>Early CRISPR-like targeted nuclease work.<\/p>\n<p>Years before such methods became standard.<\/p>\n<p>Rebecca leaned closer.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThis wasn&#39;t Mom.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Ward admitted it.<\/p>\n<p>She had ordered the edit.<\/p>\n<p>Miriam discovered it and ended the collaboration completely.<\/p>\n<p>Claire understood why her mother\u2019s later warnings sounded so absolute.<\/p>\n<p>She had watched every boundary move.<\/p>\n<p>Embryo research.<\/p>\n<p>Unauthorized transfer.<\/p>\n<p>Genetic editing.<\/p>\n<p>Hidden persistence.<\/p>\n<p>Each step justified as only one more.<\/p>\n<p>Ward whispered during questioning, \u201cWe thought we were close.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Sophie, overhearing, said, \u201cEverybody was always close.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Claire looked at her.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cTo what?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cDoing one more bad thing.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Ward heard.<\/p>\n<p>She had no answer.<\/p>\n<p>The embryo remained frozen.<\/p>\n<p>No one touched it.<\/p>\n<p>For the first time, a potentially extraordinary scientific object stayed exactly where it was because nobody had the authority to decide quickly.<\/p>\n<p>That became important to Claire.<\/p>\n<p>Not everything discovered had to be used.<\/p>\n<p>Then, six weeks after Sophie came home, Dr. Shah scheduled the scan everyone had been waiting for.<\/p>\n<p>Post-treatment MRI.<\/p>\n<p>Full tumor-marker panel.<\/p>\n<p>Bone-marrow vector assay.<\/p>\n<p>Endocrine evaluation.<\/p>\n<p>The closest thing they had yet to a verdict.<\/p>\n<p>Sophie wore her purple sweatshirt.<\/p>\n<p>Same as the day she left the hospital.<\/p>\n<p>Daniel brought coffee.<\/p>\n<p>Eric brought math homework Sophie refused to touch.<\/p>\n<p>Claire brought Miriam\u2019s letter folded in her purse.<\/p>\n<p>The MRI took forty-one minutes.<\/p>\n<p>One less than the first terrifying scan.<\/p>\n<p>Sophie pointed that out afterward.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cProgress.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>They waited.<\/p>\n<p>Dr. Shah entered with Dr. Chen.<\/p>\n<p>Claire stood.<\/p>\n<p>Nobody smiled yet.<\/p>\n<p>Sophie looked between them.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cSay it.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Dr. Shah opened the report.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNo measurable malignant tumor markers.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Sophie froze.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNo active vector renewal.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Claire stopped breathing.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe residual brain mass is now tiny and continues to regress.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Daniel covered his face.<\/p>\n<p>Dr. Chen smiled.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNo hydrocephalus. No new lesions.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Sophie stared.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cSo Kevin?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Dr. Shah&#39;s smile finally appeared.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cKevin appears to be losing very badly.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Sophie began crying.<\/p>\n<p>Claire was already holding her.<\/p>\n<p>Daniel wrapped both of them.<\/p>\n<p>Eric stood beside the wall crying openly.<\/p>\n<p>No one pretended not to see.<\/p>\n<p>Sophie pulled back.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAm I in remission?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Dr. Shah answered carefully.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNot formally yet. We need sustained results.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Sophie groaned through tears.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cDoctors.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Claire laughed.<\/p>\n<p>But the direction was clear.<\/p>\n<p>For once, the future looked less like an emergency.<\/p>\n<p>Then Bell called.<\/p>\n<p>Not because something had gone wrong.<\/p>\n<p>Because prosecutors needed to know whether Sophie\u2019s family wanted to submit a victim-impact statement at the first major sentencing hearing.<\/p>\n<p>Adrian Hale.<\/p>\n<p>Claire looked at Sophie.<\/p>\n<p>Another choice.<\/p>\n<p>Not medical.<\/p>\n<p>Still hers.<\/p>\n<p>Sophie wiped her face.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cDo I have to?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cCan I?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cCan I say whatever I want?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWithin courtroom rules.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Sophie thought.<\/p>\n<p>Then said, \u201cI want to.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The next chapter would not happen inside a laboratory.<\/p>\n<p>It would happen where adults finally had to answer for what they chose.<\/p>\n<hr>\n<h2><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/?p=30974\">Click here to continue reading: PART 39: Sophie Faced Adrian in Court and Refused to Let His Sentence Become Her Ending, While Samuel Finally Spoke Without Defending What He Had Done<\/a><\/strong><\/h2>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Claire read her mother\u2019s name three times. MIRIAM MORGAN, PRINCIPAL SCIENTIFIC CONSULTANT. The embryology file was dated twelve years before Sophie\u2019s birth. Miriam had not merely studied family genetics. She &hellip; <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":30881,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-30972","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\/30972","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=30972"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30972\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":31028,"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30972\/revisions\/31028"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/30881"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=30972"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=30972"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=30972"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}