Chapter 3: The Woman Behind the Transfer
I stepped away from the crowd and called the number.
A woman answered almost immediately.
"Sarah Mitchell?""
"Yes. Who is this?""
"My name is Rebecca Collins. I worked at the fertility clinic where you and Daniel received treatment.""
I moved toward the hallway.
"How did you get my number?""
"I found your inquiry in the archived patient correspondence. I've been trying to contact you for several weeks.""
My stomach tightened.
"Why?""
Rebecca hesitated.
"Because your case was never properly closed. And because the transfer involving your embryos was not the only irregularity.""
I glanced toward the living room.
Daniel was arguing with Vanessa. Patricia stood beside them, speaking rapidly and gesturing toward the documents.
"What do you mean, not the only irregularity?""
"Sarah, I need to meet you in person. I have copies of the original records.""
"Can you tell me who authorized the transfer?""
"Not over the phone.""
"Please. I'm standing at a baby shower where my ex-husband's pregnant wife just discovered that her embryo may have come from my marriage. I think I've earned a straight answer.""
Rebecca exhaled.
"The transfer request was submitted under your name, but the person who delivered the paperwork was not Daniel.""
My fingers tightened around the phone.
"Who was it?""
"His mother.""
I closed my eyes.
Patricia.
The woman who had mocked me at Christmas. The woman who had called me an incomplete wife. The woman who had told relatives that Daniel deserved a woman capable of giving him children.
She had been involved from the beginning.
"Why would she do that?""
"According to the records, she claimed you had already agreed to the transfer. She provided a copy of your signature and a notarized statement.""
"That's impossible. I never signed anything.""
"I know. That's why I preserved the original intake documents.""
Before I could respond, someone appeared behind me.
"Sarah?""
I turned.
Vanessa stood in the doorway, her face pale.
"Who are you talking to?""
I lowered my phone.
"Someone who worked at the fertility clinic.""
Vanessa looked toward the living room.
"Was it about the embryos?""
"Yes.""
She swallowed.
"Please tell me what you found out.""
I glanced at her belly.
"Vanessa, I don't want to frighten you. But I think you deserve to know everything about your pregnancy.""
She nodded.
"Then tell me.""
I repeated Rebecca's explanation.
Vanessa's eyes filled with tears.
"Patricia?""
"Yes.""
She leaned against the wall.
"She was the one who introduced me to the clinic. She said she knew a specialist who could help us.""
I frowned.
"When?""
"About two years ago. Daniel and I had been trying to conceive for months. He told me he had no fertility problems, but that he wanted to use an embryo donation because it would be easier.""
"Did he ever show you his medical records?""
Vanessa shook her head.
"No. He said he had already been tested before meeting me.""
I felt a cold weight settle in my chest.
Daniel had known the truth all along.
He had simply found another woman willing to believe his version of it.
Vanessa looked at me.
"Sarah, do you think he knew?""
I didn't answer immediately.
Then I said, "I think he knew more than he told either of us.""
We returned to the living room together.
Daniel was standing beside the fireplace, his hands buried in his pockets.
Patricia immediately approached Vanessa.
"Darling, you shouldn't be standing. You need to sit down.""
Vanessa stepped away from her.
"Did you submit Sarah's consent form?""
Patricia blinked.
"Don't be ridiculous.""
"Did you?""
"I was helping my son.""
"That's not an answer!""
Daniel moved between them.
"Vanessa, stop. You're upsetting yourself.""
She looked at him with disbelief.
"You've been lying to me since the day we met.""
"That's not true.""
"You told me you were healthy. You told me Sarah was the reason your first marriage failed. You told me our baby came from a donor.""
Daniel's voice dropped.
"I was trying to protect our family.""
"From what? The truth?""
I watched Patricia reach for Vanessa's arm.
"Listen to me, sweetheart. You have no idea what Sarah is trying to do. She has always wanted to punish Daniel.""
I stepped forward.
"Patricia, you should stop talking.""
Her eyes narrowed.
"How dare you?""
"Because the next document I show everyone might be more difficult for you to explain.""
I pulled out the final page Rebecca had emailed me the previous evening.
It was a preliminary authorization record.
At the bottom was a handwritten note indicating that the embryo transfer had been approved under special circumstances.
There were two names beside it.
Patricia Mitchell.
And a second name I didn't recognize.
I handed the document to Vanessa.
She read it once.
Then again.
"Who is Michael Reeves?"" she asked.
Daniel suddenly looked up.
For the first time that afternoon, he looked genuinely terrified.
Patricia grabbed the paper.
"Where did you get this?""
I stared at her.
"Why does that name frighten you?""
Nobody answered.
Then Rebecca sent another message.
Sarah, there's something else. Michael Reeves was not a donor. He was the biological source of the sperm used to create the embryos.
I read the message twice.
Daniel had told me for seven years that his fertility was the problem.
The medical report had confirmed it.
But if Michael Reeves was listed as the biological source, then someone had substituted genetic material without telling us.
And if the embryos had been created that way, there was only one question left.
Why had Daniel and his mother gone to such extraordinary lengths to keep the truth hidden?
Vanessa looked at Daniel.
"Who is Michael Reeves?""
Daniel's lips parted.
May you like
But before he could answer, Patricia whispered something that made Vanessa collapse into the nearest chair.
"He's Daniel's father.""
