Chapter 13: The Pregnancy Test Vanessa Should Never Have Seen
“Whose pregnancy test?””
My question hung between Mark and me.
“Yours, Claire,” he repeated.
“Vanessa showed me a photograph of a positive pregnancy test the morning after I left your house.””
I gripped the phone so tightly my fingers hurt.
“That isn't possible. I didn't know I was pregnant until weeks later.””
“I know that now.””
“Then explain how she had a photograph of my pregnancy test.””
Mark breathed unevenly.
“She said she'd received it from someone at the clinic. She claimed the photograph proved you were already pregnant when we slept together.””
I stared at the kitchen wall.
The positive tests I'd taken at home had been purchased at a pharmacy. Nobody else had seen them until I visited my doctor.
Unless Vanessa had somehow obtained information from the clinic before I even knew I was pregnant, the story made no sense.
“Did you see my name on the photograph?””
“No. There was no name. Just a test and a date written underneath it.””
“What date?””
“The morning after I left your house.””
I closed my eyes.
Someone had been watching me.
Or someone had been creating evidence designed to make Mark believe I was pregnant before I could possibly have known.
“Mark, did you believe her?””
“I didn't know what to believe. Vanessa told me you might have planned the pregnancy to force me back into the marriage.””
The cruelty of it stole my breath.
I had never known I could become pregnant that night. I'd never tried to trap Mark. I'd never even considered using a child to repair our marriage.
I had spent seven years hoping to become a mother, and when it finally happened, I had been terrified to tell the man who had made me feel unworthy of motherhood.
“Did you tell her about the twins?””
“I didn't know there were twins.””
“That isn't what I asked.””
He went quiet.
“Did you tell her you had slept with me?””
“Yes.””
“And she showed you the photograph the next morning?””
“Yes.””
I walked to the window and watched Luke and Owen playing in the backyard. Natalie had brought them over after school, and they were chasing bubbles across the grass.
My sons laughed as a gust of wind carried the bubbles toward the fence.
I pressed a hand against the glass.
“What did you do after Vanessa showed you the photograph?””
“I asked her to leave you alone.””
“Did you?””
“Yes.””
“Then why did you pay her family eighty-five thousand dollars?””
Mark didn't answer.
“Mark?””
“Because she said the photograph was only the beginning.””
I turned away from the window.
“What does that mean?””
“She told me she had documents showing that our final night together was part of an arrangement. She said if I didn't cooperate, she'd give them to the clinic, my family, and the business partners.””
I felt sick.
“You're telling me someone blackmailed you?””
“I believe she did.””
“And you never went to the police?””
“I was ashamed. I thought the documents would make it look like I'd deliberately tried to get you pregnant.””
I stared at the phone.
“You keep saying you were ashamed. Meanwhile, I was raising your children alone.””
“I know.””
“No, you don't.””
My voice cracked.
“You don't know what it felt like to sit in a hospital room with two newborn babies and wonder how I was going to pay the bills. You don't know what it felt like when Luke got sick and I had to hold him with one arm while calling the pediatrician with the other. You don't know what it felt like to watch other fathers carry their children on their shoulders while my boys asked why they didn't have a daddy.””
Mark began crying.
“I should have been there.””
“Yes.””
“I want to make it right.””
“You can't make it right by paying someone to keep a secret.””
He fell silent.
I ended the call and immediately contacted Rachel.
She listened without interrupting while I explained the photograph, the alleged blackmail, and Mark's admission that he had paid the consulting firm.
When I finished, she said, “We need to obtain the original image and the payment records. We also need to establish whether the photograph was authentic.””
“What if Vanessa really had access to my medical information?””
“Then that is something the appropriate authorities should investigate.””
“What if she had access to more than my medical information?””
“Then we preserve everything and let the evidence guide us.””
An hour later, Rachel arranged a meeting with Dr. Reeves.
He examined the documents Mark had provided and shook his head.
“There is no legitimate reason for Vanessa to have possessed a photograph of a pregnancy test associated with Claire's medical care.””
“Could she have obtained the information from the clinic?”” I asked.
“Possibly, but we cannot establish that from this photograph alone. We need the original file, its metadata, and the source.””
He studied the image.
Then his expression changed.
“Where did this come from?””
“Mark sent it to Rachel.””
Dr. Reeves enlarged the photograph on his computer.
The test was visible beside a handwritten date.
But there was something strange about the image.
The test's packaging bore a logo from a brand I recognized.
I had used that brand when I discovered I was pregnant.
However, the date written beneath the test was several weeks earlier than the day I bought my first test.
Dr. Reeves leaned closer.
“This may be a photograph of a real test, but it doesn't establish whose test it was or when it was taken. The date is handwritten, and the image doesn't contain enough reliable information to authenticate the claim.””
I felt a cautious spark of relief.
“So she could have fabricated the date?””
“Yes.””
He looked at me.
“Claire, I want you to understand something. A photograph is not proof of a pregnancy, much less proof that you knew about one.””
Rachel made a note.
“Can we trace the image to its original source?””
“We can request that the relevant records be preserved. Whether the source can be established will depend on what still exists.””
On the drive home, I kept thinking about the date.
Vanessa might have used an unrelated photograph to frighten Mark into believing I had deliberately become pregnant.
Or she might have had access to information she should never have possessed.
Either way, she had used my body, my marriage, and my future children as weapons.
That evening, Mark sent me a message.
*MARK:* I found the original payment agreement. Vanessa signed it herself. There's a section about a child, and I think it explains everything.
He attached a scanned document.
The agreement stated that the consulting firm would receive payment for medical coordination and expenses related to a child whose identity was not disclosed.
But one clause had been crossed out.
Someone had written a note in the margin.
If Claire's pregnancy is confirmed, all arrangements must be reconsidered.
I read it three times.
The agreement had been prepared before my pregnancy was confirmed.
Someone had anticipated the possibility that I might conceive.
And someone had planned for what would happen if I did.
I called Mark.
“Where did you find this?””
“In Vanessa's old files. She left a box at my office years ago. I never opened it until today.””
“Why didn't you tell me about the box earlier?””
“I didn't understand what was inside.””
I closed my eyes.
“Mark, who wrote the note about my pregnancy?””
“I don't know.””
“Whose handwriting is it?””
He hesitated.
Then he answered.
“Richard Cole's.””
Vanessa's father.
The man who had wanted Mark to marry his daughter and secure their family's business through a child.
I stared at the agreement.
“Mark, I need you to listen carefully. If you want any relationship with Luke and Owen, you're going to cooperate fully with Rachel. No more secrets.
No more private deals. And no contact with the boys until we have a proper plan.””
“I understand.””
“I hope you do.””
I hung up.
For the first time, the scattered pieces seemed to form a shape.
But one question remained.
Why had Richard Cole cared so much about whether I became pregnant?
And what had he planned to do if I did?
The answer arrived the next morning.
Rachel called before eight.
“Claire, we've received confirmation from the investigator about the newborn photograph.””
I sat upright.
“What did they find?””
“The baby was born at a Columbus hospital four years ago. The records identify Vanessa as the child's mother.””
I closed my eyes.
“Is Mark the father?””
“Not according to the documentation we've reviewed. We haven't established the child's biological father, and we won't speculate.””
I breathed out slowly.
“Then why did Mark pay for the child?””
Rachel paused.
“Because the payment agreement wasn't primarily about medical expenses.””
“What was it about?””
Her answer made my stomach drop.
“It appears to have been part of a private adoption arrangement that never reached completion.””
I stared at the wall.
Vanessa had given birth to a child.
Mark had paid for an arrangement involving that child.
And someone had been planning a family that never came together.
Rachel continued.
“There's one more document. It contains a reference to a second potential parent.””
“Who?””
May you like
She hesitated.
“Claire, the name on that document is yours.””
