Chapter 8: The Child He Claimed
For a moment, nobody moved.
Not me.
Not Claire.
Not Marcus.
Not even Daniel.
The words stayed between us like something alive.
*The boy isn't mine either.*
I looked at Daniel.
Waiting.
Because there was still a part of me that needed him to explain.
A part of me that hated him but still wanted one thing from him.
The truth.
"Say that again.""
Daniel looked away.
"Anna—"
"No.""
My voice was sharper.
"Say it again.""
His jaw tightened.
"The boy isn't genetically mine.""
Claire stared at him.
"Then whose is he?""
Daniel didn't answer.
That was when I understood.
This wasn't a confession.
It was another piece of information he was giving me only because he had no choice.
"You knew.""
Daniel looked at me.
"Yes.""
"You knew before the birth.""
"Yes.""
"And you still told everyone they were your children.""
His silence answered.
Claire stepped forward.
"Daniel.""
He looked at her.
For the first time, she looked like a stranger to him.
Not the woman he chose.
Not the woman he used.
A stranger.
"You knew?""
"I found out later.""
"When?""
"After the genetic screening.""
Claire's face changed.
"You promised me you hadn't received the results.""
"I didn't.""
"Then how?""
Daniel looked at Marcus.
Nobody spoke.
Then Marcus quietly said:
"The clinic sent the results to him.""
Claire turned.
"Why?""
"Because Daniel was listed as the intended parent.""
I closed my eyes.
Another lie.
Another system manipulated.
Another document altered.
"Who is the father?""
I asked.
Daniel looked at me.
"I don't know.""
I almost laughed.
"You don't know?""
"No.""
"You created this entire nightmare and you don't know?""
His face tightened.
"I thought I did.""
"What does that mean?""
He looked toward Marcus.
And I knew.
Before he spoke.
I knew.
"Vale used donor material.""
Claire went pale.
"Marcus?""
The doctor looked down.
"I didn't authorize that.""
"Didn't authorize what?""
Daniel answered.
"He had access to samples.""
My stomach turned.
"Whose samples?""
Nobody answered.
Then Daniel said:
"Mine.""
Silence.
"He used your samples?""
Daniel shook his head.
"No.""
His eyes moved to me.
"He used mine to create the embryos. But there were other samples involved.""
I felt sick.
"Other samples?""
Marcus stepped forward.
"Anna, you need to understand—"
"No.""
I turned toward him.
"Every time someone says that, it means I'm about to learn something worse.""
He stopped.
Good.
Because I was tired of being prepared for pain.
I wanted the pain to arrive.
Not be announced.
Daniel looked at the ground.
"The boy's DNA doesn't match mine.""
"Or Claire's.""
"No.""
"Or mine?""
He didn't answer.
I stared at him.
"Does he match mine?""
"No.""
The word was quiet.
But it destroyed something.
Not because I had expected the boy to be mine.
But because I had spent years believing the problem was my inability to create a family.
And now I was standing in front of evidence that the family Daniel showed me was never what he claimed.
Nothing about it was real.
The babies.
The affair.
The marriage.
The story.
All constructed.
"Why?""
Daniel looked at me.
"What?""
"Why would you do this?""
His eyes filled.
And for the first time, I saw something close to regret.
"I wanted control.""
I waited.
"Over what?""
"Everything.""
He looked around.
"My company was failing.""
"I know.""
"My marriage was failing.""
"Because you were destroying it.""
He flinched.
"I didn't think you loved me anymore.""
The sentence was so absurd I almost couldn't process it.
"You thought I didn't love you?""
"I felt like I was alone.""
I stared.
"Daniel.""
My voice became quiet.
"I saved your company.""
"I know.""
"I gave you everything.""
"I know.""
"I stood beside you when everyone else left.""
"I know.""
"Then why?""
He looked away.
"Because none of it fixed what I felt.""
There it was.
The real answer.
Not the babies.
Not Claire.
Not the money.
Him.
His emptiness.
His belief that everyone else was responsible for filling it.
I looked at him.
"You destroyed my life because you were unhappy.""
His eyes lowered.
"Yes.""
The admission should have felt satisfying.
It didn't.
It felt empty.
Because there was no punishment big enough for someone who could do that.
A phone rang.
Everyone looked.
Marcus reached into his pocket.
His face changed when he saw the screen.
"What?""
He listened.
Then:
"No.""
Pause.
"How long ago?""
He looked at me.
And I knew something had happened.
"What?""
Marcus ended the call.
"North River was broken into.""
Claire froze.
"What?""
"The records room.""
My heart sank.
"What was taken?""
Marcus didn't answer.
"Tell me.""
"The original genetic files.""
Daniel went still.
"All of them?""
Marcus looked at him.
"Almost.""
Almost.
That word mattered.
"What was left?""
Marcus reached into his jacket.
A small flash drive.
"This.""
Daniel's expression changed.
"You had a copy.""
"I made one.""
"Why?""
Marcus looked at him.
"Because I knew one day you would try to erase everything.""
Daniel stepped forward.
"Give it to me.""
"No.""
"Marcus.""
"No.""
The calm doctor was gone.
For the first time, he sounded angry.
"You threatened my life.""
Daniel stopped.
"You destroyed my career.""
"You destroyed yourself.""
The words hit.
Daniel looked like he wanted to argue.
But couldn't.
Marcus turned to me.
"This contains the complete records.""
I stared at the drive.
"Everything?""
"Everything.""
"Including who the boy belongs to?""
"Yes.""
Claire looked terrified.
"What else?""
Marcus hesitated.
"Something Daniel didn't know.""
Daniel looked up.
"What?""
Marcus didn't answer.
I took the drive.
"What did you find?""
The doctor looked at me.
"When I reviewed the records, I found an additional transfer.""
I felt cold.
"Another one?""
"Yes.""
"Where?""
He looked at Claire.
"Not to her.""
Then at me.
"Not to you.""
Nobody spoke.
"Then where?""
Marcus looked toward Daniel.
"That's the part I think Daniel was afraid you would discover.""
Daniel's face changed.
"Don't.""
I turned.
"Don't what?""
"Anna.""
"No.""
I stepped closer.
"You don't get to tell me what I can handle.""
He swallowed.
"Some things can't be undone.""
"Neither can what you did.""
I held up the drive.
"Who received the third transfer?""
Marcus answered.
"A woman.""
"Who?""
He paused.
Then:
"Someone connected to Daniel.""
My heart sank.
"Claire?""
"No.""
"Evelyn?""
"No.""
I looked at Daniel.
He wouldn't meet my eyes.
"Who?""
Marcus said the name.
And the world stopped.
"Serena Carter.""
I frowned.
"Who is that?""
Nobody answered.
Then Daniel whispered:
"My sister.""
I stared at him.
"You have a sister?""
He nodded slowly.
"Yes.""
"Why have I never heard of her?""
His silence was the answer.
"Daniel.""
He looked broken.
"Because she died.""
Claire gasped.
"When?""
"Eight years ago.""
I stared.
"Then how could she receive an embryo transfer?""
Nobody spoke.
Then Marcus said:
"Because the transfer wasn't to her.""
I felt a chill.
"Then who?""
Marcus opened another file from the flash drive.
The screen loaded.
A name appeared.
A patient's name.
A date.
A medical facility.
I read it.
Then read it again.
Because the name was familiar.
Too familiar.
My fingers went numb.
"That's impossible.""
Daniel looked at me.
"What?""
I couldn't answer.
Because the person listed on the document wasn't a stranger.
It wasn't a hidden partner.
It wasn't another woman.
It was someone whose name I had seen every day for eleven years.
Someone whose existence had never made sense.
Someone Daniel had always described as family.
The patient name on the file was:
*Lydia Carter.*
Daniel's first wife.
I looked up.
"What?""
Daniel went completely still.
"Anna...""
I stared at him.
"You told me she died before you met me.""
His face lost all color.
"She did.""
"Then why is she in a fertility record from three years ago?""
Nobody breathed.
Then the flash drive screen refreshed.
A new document appeared.
And at the bottom was a signature.
A signature I recognized.
Not Daniel's.
Not Marcus's.
Mine.
My blood ran cold.
Because beneath the signature was a date.
A date after my wedding.
A date when I was supposed to be asleep beside my husband.
A date when I was supposed to know exactly what was happening in my own life.
The date read:
*Two weeks after Anna Carter's alleged embryo loss.*
I looked at Daniel.
"Who is Lydia Carter?""
He didn't answer.
So I asked the only question that mattered.
"Why did you use my name on her file?""
Daniel's eyes filled.
And he whispered:
"Because Lydia wasn't dead.""
The parking lot went silent.
Claire grabbed the edge of the table.
Marcus stepped back.
And I realized the truth I had been chasing wasn't about a cheating husband.
It wasn't about stolen embryos.
It wasn't even about children.
It was about a woman Daniel had buried eight years ago.
May you like
A woman who was apparently alive.
And carrying a child that came from my body.
