Chapter 5: The Other Baby
“Three weeks ago?””
My voice sounded unfamiliar.
Michael nodded.
“That's what the legal department said.””
I looked at Dr. Harper.
“Where is the other child?””
“I can't disclose that information.””
“Why not?””
“Because it involves another patient's private medical information.””
I laughed once.
It wasn't a happy sound.
“You used my wife's medical information to create a situation involving two babies and two families. Now you're suddenly concerned about privacy?””
Dr. Harper picked up her bag.
“Mr. Carter, I understand your frustration, but this conversation should take place at the clinic.””
“You're not leaving until you tell me whether this baby is safe.””
“The baby appears healthy.””
“Appears?””
She didn't answer.
I stepped closer.
“Does she carry the genetic condition Ethan had?””
“We haven't completed the necessary testing.””
“Then why was she transferred?””
Dr. Harper looked toward Vanessa.
“Your wife requested that the embryo be transferred without waiting for the additional screening.””
I turned.
Vanessa was sitting on the edge of the bed, her hands clasped tightly together.
“Is that true?””
She nodded.
“Why?””
“Because I was running out of time.””
“What does that mean?””
She wiped her cheeks.
“The clinic told me the embryos could no longer remain stored indefinitely without additional fees. I had already paid for years of storage. I couldn't keep waiting.””
Michael stared at her.
“So you decided to use them?””
“I wanted a baby!””
“You wanted Ethan's baby!””
Vanessa looked up sharply.
“Yes! I did!””
Her voice echoed through the bedroom.
For a moment, nobody spoke.
Then she looked at me.
“Daniel, I know how this sounds.””
“No, I don't think you do.””
“I never stopped loving Ethan.””
I stared at her.
She continued.
“When he died, I lost everything. His family stopped calling. His friends moved on.
His clothes disappeared from the closet. The house we had planned to buy never happened. And every time I looked at the photograph of him, I remembered that we never got to have the family we wanted.””
I held the baby tighter.
“So you married me while planning to have his child?””
“No. I loved you.””
“Then why hide it?””
“Because I knew you wouldn't understand.””
“You never gave me the chance!””
Vanessa lowered her eyes.
I took a breath.
“Tell me the truth. Did you ever intend to tell me?””
She didn't answer.
That silence told me more than any confession could.
Michael walked to the window.
“I warned you this would happen.””
Vanessa snapped her head toward him.
“You have no right to speak to me!””
“Ethan asked me to protect those embryos.””
“He was my husband!””
“And he was my brother!””
Michael's voice broke.
He turned away, rubbing his forehead.
“I buried him. I watched my parents stop sleeping. I listened to my mother ask whether she would ever have grandchildren. And now I find out that the one thing Ethan specifically asked us not to do has happened anyway.””
Vanessa stood.
“You don't know what it's like to carry someone else's grief.””
Michael faced her.
“Maybe not. But I know what it's like to lose someone and not use their death as permission to make decisions for everyone else.””
I looked toward the door.
“I'm taking the baby back to the hospital.””
Vanessa immediately moved toward me.
“No!””
“She's a newborn. She needs medical supervision.””
“She has already been examined.””
“And her genetic records are uncertain.””
“I'll take care of her!””
“You couldn't even let Lily stand beside her bassinet.””
Vanessa froze.
I continued.
“Do you know what Lily said to me?””
She looked down.
“She thinks you don't love her anymore.””
Vanessa began crying again.
“I love Lily.””
“Then you need to start acting like it.””
I reached for the diaper bag.
As I placed the baby inside the carrier, something slipped from the side pocket.
A folded piece of paper.
I picked it up.
It was a small appointment card from the fertility clinic.
On the back, someone had written:
*Transfer review — Patient: Vanessa Carter. Donor reference: M.C.*
I turned it over.
The appointment date was eleven months earlier.
Beneath it was another handwritten note.
Do not disclose the donor discrepancy to the patient until legal review is complete.
I stared at the words.
Then I looked at Dr. Harper.
“You knew.””
She said nothing.
“You knew there was a discrepancy before the transfer.””
“I was following the clinic's internal review process.””
“You let her go through with the procedure anyway.””
“We believed the discrepancy could be resolved.””
Michael took the card from my hand.
He read the note.
Then he looked at the doctor.
“Who authorized the transfer?””
Dr. Harper's face tightened.
“I can't discuss that here.””
“Who?””
“Michael, please.””
“Was it you?””
She looked away.
And that was when I noticed something else.
The handwritten initials beside the authorization line.
R.H.
Rebecca Harper.
I felt my stomach turn.
“You approved it.””
She didn't deny it.
“I believed the procedure was permissible.””
“Based on what?””
“An authorization document provided by the patient.””
I looked at Vanessa.
“What authorization document?””
Vanessa shook her head.
“I signed the forms they gave me.””
Michael took a step closer.
“Did you sign anything giving permission to use my genetic sample?””
“No!””
“Did you authorize the clinic to use another donor?””
“No!””
Dr. Harper raised her hands.
“Please. We need to stop making accusations.””
I pointed toward the door.
“Then let's go to the hospital. I want the original records, the genetic tests, and someone from the legal department in the same room.””
She nodded reluctantly.
“Fine.””
At the hospital, the maternity ward was quiet.
My mother had taken Lily home, and I had sent her a message promising that I would call as soon as I knew more.
The baby was examined again.
A pediatrician checked her breathing, reflexes, and temperature.
She was healthy.
For now.
I stood beside the examination table, watching the doctor gently move her tiny legs.
“What happens next?”” I asked.
“We'll arrange appropriate genetic testing once we have verified the sample information,” he replied.
“Could she have inherited Ethan's condition?””
“It's one possibility. But the current records aren't reliable enough for us to draw conclusions.””
Vanessa sat in a chair nearby.
She hadn't spoken to me since we arrived.
When the pediatrician left, she finally looked up.
“Daniel?””
I didn't answer immediately.
“Please sit down.””
I remained standing.
She swallowed.
“I need to tell you something.””
“Then tell me.””
“When I first contacted the clinic, I didn't intend to use Ethan's embryos.””
I frowned.
“What?””
“I only wanted to know whether they were still available. I wanted to understand what would happen if I ever decided to use them.””
“Then why did you?””
She rubbed her fingers together.
“Because someone contacted me.””
“Who?””
“A woman named Claire.””
“Who is Claire?””
“She said she worked with the original fertility records. She told me there was a way to transfer the embryo without involving Ethan's family.””
I stared at her.
“Did you know the donor discrepancy involved Michael?””
“No. I swear.””
“Then why did you agree to the transfer?””
“She told me the genetic material belonged to Ethan. She said the records had been corrected.””
I took a slow breath.
“Did you ever meet Claire?””
Vanessa nodded.
“Twice.””
“Where?””
“At the clinic.””
“Do you have her number?””
Vanessa reached for her handbag.
She pulled out her phone and opened her contacts.
There was a number saved under the name Claire.
I took a photograph of the screen.
Then I noticed a message beneath the contact.
The last message had arrived three days before the delivery.
I opened it.
*Claire:* The baby must be registered under the name Emma. Do not use the name Grace until the final identity review is completed.
I stared at the screen.
“Why did you agree to this?””
Vanessa shook her head.
“I didn't. I ignored it.””
“Then why is she calling the baby Emma?””
“I don't know.””
I scrolled through the messages.
There were only a few.
But one made my hands go cold.
*Claire:* If the hospital asks about the second transfer, say it was canceled. Do not mention the other family.
I looked at Vanessa.
“What other family?””
She began shaking.
“I thought it was just a clerical problem.””
“Vanessa, what other family?””
She closed her eyes.
Then she whispered:
“Claire said another couple had been waiting for an embryo for years.””
I stared at her.
“Did you steal their embryo?””
“No!””
“Then what happened?””
“I don't know. She told me the embryo was legally available.””
I stepped back.
The baby began making small sounds in her bassinet.
Vanessa reached toward her.
But before she could touch her, my phone rang.
It was Melissa, the nurse from the maternity ward.
“Mr. Carter?””
“Yes?””
“We have a woman here asking to speak with you.””
“Who?””
“She says her name is Claire.””
I looked at Vanessa.
Her eyes widened.
“Don't let her near the baby,” she whispered.
I turned toward the door.
“Why?””
Vanessa stood abruptly.
“Because she knows what happened to the first baby.””
I froze.
“What first baby?””
Before she could answer, the hospital room door opened.
A woman in a beige coat stood in the doorway.
She looked directly at Vanessa.
Then at me.
And finally at the baby.
“Hello, Daniel,” she said.
I had never met her before.
But she knew my name.
May you like
She also knew something that made her next words sound almost like a threat.
“I'm here to collect the child who was supposed to be yours.””
