Chapter 12: The Child Before Lily
Claire looked at Evelyn.
“What child?””
Evelyn didn't answer.
Claire handed Lily to me.
Then she walked toward the older woman.
“What child?””
“I was trying to protect you.””
Claire laughed through tears.
“Everyone in this family says that right before admitting something unforgivable.””
Mercer picked up the medical record.
“The embryo transfer occurred eight years ago.””
Claire shook her head.
“I wasn't pregnant eight years ago.””
“No,” Mercer said.
“The embryo was created from stored reproductive material.””
I stared at him.
“Whose?””
He looked at Claire.
“Yours.””
Then at me.
“And Ryan's.””
My stomach dropped.
“That’s impossible.””
Claire whispered, “We didn't even know each other.””
Mercer nodded.
“Which means someone obtained samples before you met.””
I turned toward Evelyn.
“You.””
She didn't deny it.
Rage surged through me.
“You created a child without our consent?””
Thomas moved between us.
“Ryan.””
“Get out of my way.””
“Not in front of Lily.””
He was right.
I hated that he was right.
I stepped back.
Lily buried her face against my shoulder.
“It's okay, sweetheart.””
It wasn't.
Nothing was okay.
Claire whispered, “Was the transfer successful?””
Mercer looked at Evelyn.
“Tell her.””
Evelyn's composure finally cracked.
“Yes.””
Claire staggered.
“A baby was born?””
“Yes.””
“Boy or girl?””
“A boy.””
Claire covered her mouth.
I couldn't process the words.
Somewhere in the world, I had a son.
A child conceived without my knowledge.
“What happened to him?””
Evelyn stared at the floor.
“He was placed with a family.””
“Where?””
“I don't know.””
Michael laughed bitterly.
“You expect us to believe that?””
“The placement was handled by someone else.””
“Who?””
Evelyn looked at Mercer.
Mercer went pale.
“No.””
She nodded.
“Daniel.””
Everyone turned.
Mercer backed away.
“You promised.””
“You've spent tonight exposing everyone else's secrets.””
Her voice became cold.
“Now expose yours.””
I looked at him.
“Where is my son?””
Mercer's eyes filled.
“I couldn't let Evelyn keep him.””
“So you gave him away?””
“Yes.””
“To who?””
“A couple I trusted.””
“Name.””
“Ryan—”
“NAME.””
“David and Laura Hayes.””
Claire grabbed the table.
“Where do they live?””
“They died six years ago.””
My heart sank.
“And the boy?””
Mercer looked toward Thomas.
Thomas suddenly looked sick.
I noticed.
“What?””
He shook his head.
“Nothing.””
“You know that name.””
Thomas didn't answer.
“David Hayes.””
Michael's eyes narrowed.
Then he whispered:
“I know it too.””
Everyone turned toward him.
Michael walked to the archive wall and pulled down an old photograph.
Three men stood outside the clinic.
Thomas.
Mercer.
And David Hayes.
On the back was written:
SECURITY TEAM, 1996.
Michael looked at Thomas.
“David worked for you.””
Thomas nodded.
“Yes.””
“Where did the boy go after they died?””
“I don't know.””
Michael stepped closer.
“Stop lying.””
“I DON'T KNOW!””
Thomas's voice cracked.
For the first time, he looked genuinely desperate.
“I tried to find him.””
I stared at him.
“You knew I had a son?””
“Not at first.””
“When?””
“Six years ago.””
The timing hit me.
“When my mother supposedly died.””
Thomas nodded.
“That was when everything started moving again.””
I felt exhausted beyond anger.
“What was his name?””
Mercer answered.
“Noah.””
Claire made a tiny sound.
I looked at her.
“What?””
Her face had gone completely white.
“Claire?””
She stared at Mercer.
“Did you say Noah Hayes?””
“Yes.””
Claire sat down.
I moved toward her.
“You know him?””
She looked at me.
“Ryan…”
“Who is he?””
“There was a boy.””
Her hands shook.
“When I worked at St. Matthew's Community Center before we got married.””
I remembered.
Claire had been a counselor there.
“What about him?””
“Noah Hayes came through the foster program.””
My pulse accelerated.
“How old?””
“He was seven.””
Exactly right.
Claire started crying.
“He barely spoke. He hated closed rooms. He had nightmares.””
She looked toward Michael.
“And he had a crescent-shaped birthmark on his wrist.””
Nobody moved.
“Where is he now?””
Claire shook her head.
“I don't know. He was transferred after three months.””
“Transferred where?””
“I tried to find out.””
She looked at Evelyn.
“The paperwork disappeared.””
Evelyn looked genuinely confused.
“I didn't do that.””
Michael scoffed.
“Convenient.””
“No.””
Evelyn turned toward Mercer.
“Daniel?””
Mercer shook his head.
“Not me.””
A new voice came from the doorway.
“Because I moved him.””
We turned.
Sarah's mother stood there.
The woman from the hospital feed.
Except she wasn't unconscious.
She was perfectly awake.
Sarah whispered:
“Mom?””
The woman smiled.
“Hello, sweetheart.””
Sarah stepped backward.
“You're supposed to be—”
“Dying?””
Her mother smiled.
“Another useful story.””
I was suddenly furious at how many dead people refused to stay dead.
“Where is Noah?””
She looked at me.
“Safe.””
I nearly laughed.
“I have heard that word too many times tonight.””
She studied my face.
Then she reached into her coat and removed a recent photograph.
A boy stood outside a high school.
Dark hair.
My eyes.
Claire's smile.
He looked about fourteen.
My son.
Alive.
Claire touched the photograph with trembling fingers.
“Noah.””
I looked at Sarah's mother.
“Where is he?””
She smiled.
“Closer than you think.””
Then the building's front doors opened.
Footsteps entered the hallway.
Slow.
Uncertain.
A teenage boy appeared.
He looked around at all of us.
Then his eyes landed on me.
He froze.
I couldn't breathe.
Neither could Claire.
The boy looked down at the photograph in his hand.
It was my college graduation picture.
The same photograph Emma had carried in her necklace.
He looked back at me.
“Ryan Walker?””
My throat closed.
“Yes.””
The boy swallowed.
May you like
Then he asked the question that shattered whatever remained of my old life.
“Are you my dad?””
