Ingrid was still at the dining-room table when we returned.<\/p>\n
The candles had been extinguished.<\/p>\n
Harold sat in the living room.<\/p>\n
Sabine was on the phone with an attorney.<\/p>\n
Elise had left with a friend after refusing to spend another minute inside the Blake house.<\/p>\n
Laura remained with Caroline at Mercer Biomedical.<\/p>\n
Nobody looked surprised when Felix and I walked in.<\/p>\n
That told me the evening had passed beyond surprise.<\/p>\n
I placed Claire\u2019s documents on the table.<\/p>\n
Ingrid looked at them.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat now?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cEvan.\u201d<\/p>\n
Her face changed.<\/p>\n
One second.<\/p>\n
That was all.<\/p>\n
But I saw it.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou know his name.\u201d<\/p>\n
She said nothing.<\/p>\n
Felix stopped beside me.<\/p>\n
\u201cMom.\u201d<\/p>\n
Ingrid looked at her son.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou know about him?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHow?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAnswer her.\u201d<\/p>\n
Ingrid folded her hands.<\/p>\n
I had seen that gesture before.<\/p>\n
At dinners.<\/p>\n
At holidays.<\/p>\n
Whenever she wanted to appear calm.<\/p>\n
\u201cEvan was never supposed to become part of this.\u201d<\/p>\n
I stared.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe is part of it because someone stole one of my embryos.\u201d<\/p>\n
She closed her eyes.<\/p>\n
\u201cI know.\u201d<\/p>\n
Felix whispered, \u201cMom.\u201d<\/p>\n
She looked at him.<\/p>\n
\u201cI didn\u2019t know at first.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAt first?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI knew Martin was moving material.\u201d<\/p>\n
My stomach turned at the word.<\/p>\n
Material.<\/p>\n
My eggs.<\/p>\n
Our embryos.<\/p>\n
\u201cDuring which cycle?\u201d<\/p>\n
She looked at me.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe seventh.\u201d<\/p>\n
The cycle with three blastocysts.<\/p>\n
The cycle Felix and I had been told produced none.<\/p>\n
The night I sat on the kitchen floor crying.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat did you do?\u201d<\/p>\n
Ingrid\u2019s voice became quieter.<\/p>\n
\u201cMartin came to me after the retrieval.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy you?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause he said the trust timeline was failing.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cMeaning I wasn\u2019t pregnant quickly enough.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
Felix moved away from the table.<\/p>\n
He looked physically ill.<\/p>\n
Ingrid continued.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe said there was a way to preserve options.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat options?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cStore embryos separately.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWithout telling me.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWithout telling Felix.\u201d<\/p>\n
She looked at him.<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
He laughed once.<\/p>\n
\u201cSo you betrayed both of us.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI thought I was protecting you.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
His voice sharpened.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou were protecting money.\u201d<\/p>\n
Ingrid flinched.<\/p>\n
I said, \u201cWho decided to transfer the embryo to Claire?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cMartin.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDid you know?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNot until later.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHow much later?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAfter the pregnancy.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDid you stop him?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI tried.\u201d<\/p>\n
I almost laughed.<\/p>\n
Everyone had tried after the damage.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat did trying look like?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI contacted Margaret.\u201d<\/p>\n
The room went still.<\/p>\n
Harold appeared in the doorway.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou contacted Mother?\u201d<\/p>\n
Ingrid turned.<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou told me you didn\u2019t know she was alive.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI didn\u2019t know where she was.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThat isn\u2019t what I asked.\u201d<\/p>\n
Ingrid\u2019s face hardened.<\/p>\n
\u201cFor years you lied to me about your own mother.\u201d<\/p>\n
Harold stopped.<\/p>\n
\u201cDon\u2019t make yourself the victim.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m not.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou declared her dead.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI know what I did.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd I discovered she was alive because Martin panicked when the embryo transfer was challenged.\u201d<\/p>\n
I leaned forward.<\/p>\n
\u201cHow?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cMartin said someone claiming to be Margaret Blake had contacted the clinic.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI found an old number among Harold\u2019s papers.\u201d<\/p>\n
Harold closed his eyes.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou called.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat did she say?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThat if I had any decency left, I would help her stop the transfer.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDid you?\u201d<\/p>\n
Ingrid looked at me.<\/p>\n
\u201cI gave her the location of the recipient.\u201d<\/p>\n
Claire.<\/p>\n
That was how Margaret found Evan.<\/p>\n
Not by accident.<\/p>\n
Ingrid told her.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou saved him from being taken away from Claire.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAfter helping create the situation.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
Her answer contained no defense this time.<\/p>\n
Felix sat.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy didn\u2019t you tell us Evan existed?\u201d<\/p>\n
Ingrid looked at him.<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause Martin said if you knew, you would claim him.\u201d<\/p>\n
Felix stared.<\/p>\n
\u201cDid you believe that?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAt the time?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
He looked hurt.<\/p>\n
I understood why.<\/p>\n
Then I remembered what Felix had been willing to do with Elise\u2019s baby.<\/p>\n
Ingrid\u2019s belief had not been entirely unreasonable.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou also needed another succession child,\u201d I said.<\/p>\n
Her eyes moved toward me.<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cSo Elise.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI did not tell Felix to sleep with her.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo. You just made sure she was available.\u201d<\/p>\n
Ingrid looked away.<\/p>\n
Felix stared at his mother.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat did you do?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNothing at first.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat does that mean?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI told Martin where Elise was living.\u201d<\/p>\n
Felix stood.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou found her.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI knew where she was.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou gave Martin her location.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd then he encouraged me to contact her.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI didn\u2019t know exactly what he intended.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cStop.\u201d<\/p>\n
Felix\u2019s voice shook.<\/p>\n
\u201cStop pretending ignorance is innocence.\u201d<\/p>\n
Ingrid fell silent.<\/p>\n
That sentence could have been spoken to half the room.<\/p>\n
Maybe all of us.<\/p>\n
I opened Claire\u2019s custody rider.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey planned to take Evan before his first birthday.\u201d<\/p>\n
Ingrid nodded.<\/p>\n
\u201cMartin believed once the trust certified the child, nobody would challenge it.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd Margaret stopped him.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy didn\u2019t she expose everything then?\u201d<\/p>\n
Ingrid looked at Harold.<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause Harold threatened her.\u201d<\/p>\n
Harold\u2019s head snapped up.<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
Ingrid turned toward him.<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat threat?\u201d<\/p>\n
Felix asked.<\/p>\n
Harold said nothing.<\/p>\n
Ingrid answered.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe told Margaret if she surfaced publicly, he would have her declared mentally incompetent.\u201d<\/p>\n
Margaret had suffered a stroke.<\/p>\n
Her son controlled her estate.<\/p>\n
Her identity had already been erased.<\/p>\n
The threat would have been credible.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe would have locked her away again,\u201d Ingrid said.<\/p>\n
Harold\u2019s face hardened.<\/p>\n
\u201cI was trying to contain chaos.\u201d<\/p>\n
Sabine entered.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou were trying to contain Grandmother.\u201d<\/p>\n
Harold looked at his daughter.<\/p>\n
\u201cI made terrible choices.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThat is becoming the family motto.\u201d<\/p>\n
She placed her phone on the table.<\/p>\n
\u201cMy attorney verified the codicil.\u201d<\/p>\n
Everyone looked at her.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s valid.\u201d<\/p>\n
Harold sat.<\/p>\n
Sabine continued.<\/p>\n
\u201cDistribution is formally suspended.\u201d<\/p>\n
Ingrid closed her eyes.<\/p>\n
Felix asked, \u201cWhat happens next?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAn independent trust review.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHow long?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cMonths.\u201d<\/p>\n
Harold whispered, \u201cWe don\u2019t have months.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThe company debt.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
Sabine looked at him.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m sorry.\u201d<\/p>\n
He laughed bitterly.<\/p>\n
\u201cNo, you\u2019re not.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI am sorry for the employees.\u201d<\/p>\n
That silenced him.<\/p>\n
I turned back to Ingrid.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat happened to the other embryos?\u201d<\/p>\n
Her face changed.<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t know.\u201d<\/p>\n
My stomach tightened.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere were three.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI know.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cOne became Evan.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhere are the other two?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t know.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cMartin?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cProbably.\u201d<\/p>\n
Felix whispered, \u201cJesus.\u201d<\/p>\n
I felt cold.<\/p>\n
Another child?<\/p>\n
Two?<\/p>\n
Stored?<\/p>\n
Used?<\/p>\n
Destroyed?<\/p>\n
No answer was harmless.<\/p>\n
My phone buzzed.<\/p>\n
Unknown number.<\/p>\n
I almost hated the sound now.<\/p>\n
Two embryos remain.<\/p>\n
One message.<\/p>\n
ONE WAS DESTROYED AFTER MARGARET INTERVENED.<\/p>\n
Then:<\/p>\n
THE OTHER WAS MOVED.<\/p>\n
I typed:<\/p>\n
WHERE?<\/p>\n
No response.<\/p>\n
Again:<\/p>\n
WHERE?<\/p>\n
Nothing.<\/p>\n
Felix watched.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat did they say?\u201d<\/p>\n
I showed him.<\/p>\n
His face tightened.<\/p>\n
\u201cOne remains.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cOr remained.\u201d<\/p>\n
He looked toward Ingrid.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhere would Martin move it?\u201d<\/p>\n
She shook her head.<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t know.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThink.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cMercer had multiple storage facilities.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhich one did he use for private trust material?\u201d<\/p>\n
She flinched at the word material now.<\/p>\n
Good.<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t know.\u201d<\/p>\n
Harold said, \u201cBaltimore.\u201d<\/p>\n
Everyone turned.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\n
He looked exhausted.<\/p>\n
\u201cMartin maintained private cryogenic storage through a research facility outside Baltimore.\u201d<\/p>\n
Caroline was still on speaker through Sabine\u2019s phone.<\/p>\n
She heard.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat facility?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cSt. Catherine Research Center.\u201d<\/p>\n
Keyboard sounds followed.<\/p>\n
Then Caroline said, \u201cIt closed two years ago.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cRecords?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cTransferred.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cTo where?\u201d<\/p>\n
A pause.<\/p>\n
Then:<\/p>\n
\u201cMercer Biomedical.\u201d<\/p>\n
Of course.<\/p>\n
Everything returned there.<\/p>\n
Caroline continued searching.<\/p>\n
\u201cWait.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI have a transfer inventory.\u201d<\/p>\n
My pulse quickened.<\/p>\n
\u201cAny NWB codes?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
Felix gripped the table.<\/p>\n
\u201cHow many?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cOne.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cStatus?\u201d<\/p>\n
Silence.<\/p>\n
\u201cCaroline.\u201d<\/p>\n
She answered carefully.<\/p>\n
\u201cNot in storage.\u201d<\/p>\n
My stomach dropped.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat does that mean?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was released.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cFor destruction?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
I stopped breathing.<\/p>\n
\u201cFor implantation?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cFourteen months ago.\u201d<\/p>\n
Felix stared at me.<\/p>\n
Fourteen months.<\/p>\n
The pregnancy would already have ended.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere\u2019s another child.\u201d<\/p>\n
Nobody said it.<\/p>\n
Nobody needed to.<\/p>\n
I asked, \u201cRecipient?\u201d<\/p>\n
Caroline searched.<\/p>\n
\u201cCode only.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat code?\u201d<\/p>\n
She read it.<\/p>\n
\u201cEH-04.\u201d<\/p>\n
Elise Hartmann.<\/p>\n
The room disappeared around me.<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
Felix stood.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat can\u2019t be right.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cElise is pregnant now.\u201d<\/p>\n
Caroline said, \u201cThis transfer was fourteen months ago.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDid it fail?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m looking.\u201d<\/p>\n
Pages turned.<\/p>\n
Then silence.<\/p>\n
My chest tightened.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cPregnancy confirmed.\u201d<\/p>\n
Felix sat again.<\/p>\n
\u201cThen where is the baby?\u201d<\/p>\n
No one answered.<\/p>\n
I thought of Elise\u2019s medical records being cleaned.<\/p>\n
Addresses disappearing.<\/p>\n
Employment history altered.<\/p>\n
Martin controlling clinics.<\/p>\n
The trust needing a succession child.<\/p>\n
\u201cElise was pregnant before.\u201d<\/p>\n
Felix looked at me.<\/p>\n
\u201cShe never told me.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cMaybe she didn\u2019t know the truth.\u201d<\/p>\n
I called her.<\/p>\n
She answered on the second ring.<\/p>\n
\u201cNora?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWere you pregnant last year?\u201d<\/p>\n
Silence.<\/p>\n
Then she whispered, \u201cWho told you?\u201d<\/p>\n
Felix closed his eyes.<\/p>\n
So she knew.<\/p>\n
\u201cYes or no?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat happened?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI lost the baby.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cSeven months.\u201d<\/p>\n
A stillbirth.<\/p>\n
My stomach turned.<\/p>\n
\u201cDid you see the baby?\u201d<\/p>\n
Silence.<\/p>\n
\u201cElise.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
Every person in the room went still.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThey told me she died during delivery complications.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWho told you?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDr. Keller.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDid you see her?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBirth certificate?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI signed paperwork.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDeath certificate?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cMartin handled it.\u201d<\/p>\n
Of course.<\/p>\n
My voice dropped.<\/p>\n
\u201cElise, that baby may have been created from one of my embryos.\u201d<\/p>\n
She stopped breathing.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd Felix\u2019s.\u201d<\/p>\n
Felix covered his face.<\/p>\n
On the phone, Elise began crying.<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI need you to listen.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo, Nora.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou were implanted fourteen months ago.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWithout consent.\u201d<\/p>\n
She made a broken sound.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhere is she?\u201d<\/p>\n
I could not answer.<\/p>\n
Because I suddenly understood what the records might mean.<\/p>\n
A seven-month pregnancy.<\/p>\n
A baby Elise never saw.<\/p>\n
A death Martin handled.<\/p>\n
Another child created from us.<\/p>\n
Another child who might have been taken.<\/p>\n
My phone buzzed.<\/p>\n
Unknown number.<\/p>\n
I opened it.<\/p>\n
THE BABY DID NOT DIE.<\/p>\n
Then:<\/p>\n
HER NAME IS LILY.<\/p>\n
And finally:<\/p>\n
MARTIN KNOWS EXACTLY WHERE SHE IS.<\/p>\n
Ingrid was still at the dining-room table when we returned. The candles had been extinguished. Harold sat in the living room. Sabine was on the phone with an attorney. Elise … <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":6069,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-6087","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-feel-every-story"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/feeleverystory.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6087","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/feeleverystory.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/feeleverystory.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/feeleverystory.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/feeleverystory.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=6087"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/feeleverystory.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6087\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6122,"href":"https:\/\/feeleverystory.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6087\/revisions\/6122"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/feeleverystory.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/6069"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/feeleverystory.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=6087"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/feeleverystory.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=6087"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/feeleverystory.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=6087"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}