SHE FOLLOWED HER HUSBAND TO THE HOSPITAL—THEN SAW HIM HOLDING ANOTHER WOMAN’S NEWBORN

The drive to St. Mary's Hospital took twenty-two minutes.

Nina counted every one.

Marcus drove with both hands on the steering wheel, checking the rearview mirror so often that she began to suspect they were being followed.

Darius sat in the back seat, silent.

Nina had insisted he come only because Marcus claimed they might need him to identify someone connected to the clinic. She had made it clear that this did not mean she trusted him.

At a red light, she turned toward Marcus.

“Who signed the donor agreement?””

Marcus kept his eyes on the road.

“I don't know for certain.””

“Then why did that man threaten to reveal it?””

“Because he wants me to bring him the notebook.””

“That doesn't answer my question.””

Marcus exhaled.

“I believe Victor has a copy of the original agreement. He may be trying to force us into revealing what we know before he releases it.””

Nina stared at him.

“Why would the signature matter?””

“Because whoever signed it authorized the clinic to use genetic material and medical records without the intended parents' knowledge.””

“That's criminal.””

“Yes.””

“And you think the signature belongs to someone in our family.””

Marcus didn't answer.

Nina turned toward the back seat.

“Darius?””

Her husband sat with his hands clasped between his knees.

“Do you know who signed it?””

“No.””

“Look at me.””

He raised his eyes.

“Do you know?””

“I saw the paperwork after everything had already started. I was told the authorization was legitimate.””

“By whom?””

“Victor's lawyer.””

Nina stared at him.

“You accepted a lawyer's word without verifying anything?””

“I thought the clinic had checked everything.””

“You thought. You assumed. You trusted strangers with decisions that belonged to me.””

Darius looked away.

Nina faced the windshield.

She was tired of hearing what he had thought.

She wanted to know what he had done.

When they reached the hospital, two security officers stood outside the maternity ward. A nurse hurried toward them as soon as Nina entered.

“Are you Nina Carter?””

“Yes. I'm here to see Lauren Mitchell.””

The nurse nodded.

“She asked us to contact you if you arrived. She's in room 312.””

“What happened to the men who came earlier?””

“Security asked them to leave while the hospital administrator verified their paperwork. One of them tried to argue that the baby was legally his responsibility.””

“Did he take the baby?””

“No. Lauren and the child are safe.””

Nina exhaled.

“Thank you.””

She hurried down the corridor.

Lauren was sitting upright in bed, the newborn cradled against her chest. A security guard stood near the door.

When she saw Nina, Lauren began to cry.

“They said they could take him.””

Nina crossed the room and sat beside her.

“They didn't.””

“But they had documents.””

“Documents can be challenged. No one is taking him without the situation being properly reviewed.””

Lauren looked down at the baby.

“His name is Daniel, isn't it?””

Nina hesitated.

“That's what they called him.””

“Is he really Samuel Reed's son?””

“We're trying to find out.””

Lauren's face crumpled.

“I don't understand how any of this happened. I thought I was helping a couple have a child. I thought Darius was being honest with me.””

Nina squeezed her hand.

“So did I.””

The two women sat in silence for a moment.

Then Lauren spoke.

“There's something I haven't told you.””

Nina's stomach tightened.

“What is it?””

“Two weeks ago, a woman came to the clinic. She said she worked for the agency and needed to verify my identity.””

“Did you know her?””

“No. She showed me a badge and asked me to sign a document confirming the baby's expected date of birth.””

“Did you sign it?””

Lauren shook her head.

“I asked why the date was different from the one on my medical records. She became angry and left.””

“Do you remember her name?””

“Claire Bennett.””

Nina looked toward Marcus, who had entered the room behind her.

He went still.

“You know her?””

Marcus nodded slowly.

“She worked for Victor.””

Lauren clutched the baby closer.

“Why would someone from his company come to see me?””

“Because they were checking whether the pregnancy was proceeding according to their plan,” Marcus said.

Nina stood.

“I'm done with vague answers. What plan?””

Marcus took a breath.

“Victor intended to use the baby as leverage against Samuel. He believed Samuel would eventually return for his son if he discovered the child was alive.””

“But why arrange a pregnancy through Lauren?””

“Because Lauren was never supposed to know the child's identity. The clinic would have recorded the birth under a different set of intended parents. The child would have been transferred to a trust-controlled family arrangement, and Victor would have retained influence over the records.””

Lauren stared at him.

“You're saying they planned to take my baby?””

“I'm saying the paperwork appears to have been designed to give them control.””

Lauren's hands trembled.

“That's my son.””

Nina looked at her.

“Then we make sure the truth is documented and that you have proper legal support. Nobody gets to decide your future for you.””

Marcus nodded.

“We need the notebook.””

Nina turned toward him.

“You keep saying that as though it will solve everything.””

“It contains the original transaction records. If we can connect Victor to the clinic and the financial transfers, we can establish why the pregnancy was arranged.””

“And the donor agreement?””

Marcus hesitated.

“The notebook may tell us who authorized it.””

Nina looked at Lauren.

“Do you have any copies of the paperwork you signed?””

Lauren nodded toward a drawer.

“I kept everything.””

Nina retrieved the folder and began sorting through it.

There were medical consent forms, appointment schedules, payment receipts, and several documents from the agency.

One page caught her attention.

It was a laboratory authorization dated five months earlier.

At the top was the clinic's logo.

Beneath it was the heading:

*GENETIC MATERIAL RELEASE AND EMBRYO TRANSFER AUTHORIZATION.*

Nina's eyes moved down the page.

The intended parents were listed as Darius Carter and Nina Carter.

The donor file was identified as 47-B.

And beside the line marked Intended Mother's Consent was a signature.

Nina felt her stomach drop.

It was her signature.

Not almost.

Not a close imitation.

It was an exact copy of the signature on her driver's license application, down to the small loop she had changed years ago.

She had only ever used that version on one document.

Her mother's estate paperwork.

Nina sat down.

“Where did this come from?””

Lauren leaned forward.

“It was in the packet they gave me after the embryo transfer.””

Nina stared at the page.

“My mother died four years ago.””

Marcus looked at her sharply.

“What?””

Nina pointed to the signature.

“This is the version of my signature I used when I was twenty-three. I stopped writing it this way years ago.””

Darius stepped closer.

“Nina, let me see.””

She handed him the paper.

He examined it, and his expression changed.

“What?”” she demanded.

He looked up.

“I've seen this before.””

“Where?””

“In a folder Victor gave me.””

Nina felt a fresh wave of anger.

“You saw a document with my signature authorizing a medical procedure I never agreed to, and you didn't question it?””

“I didn't know it was forged.””

“But you knew I hadn't agreed to the procedure!””

Darius had no answer.

Marcus took the document from him.

He examined the bottom corner, where a small code was printed beneath the clinic's name.

“That's not a current authorization number,” he said.

“What does that mean?”” Nina asked.

“This form was generated using an older template. The clinic changed its authorization system six years ago.””

“Six years?””

Marcus nodded.

“The document may have been prepared long before Lauren became pregnant.””

Nina stared at him.

“How long before?””

He pointed to a tiny date printed near the barcode.

Eight years earlier.

The same year Marcus disappeared.

The same year Samuel vanished.

The same year Nina's mother had supposedly helped Marcus leave the country.

Nina felt the walls closing in.

“This wasn't created for our fertility treatment,” she whispered.

“No,” Marcus said.

“It looks like the form was repurposed.””

Darius's voice trembled.

“But why would they do that?””

Marcus looked at him.

“Because they needed an authorization that appeared to come from Nina.””

“For what?””

“To make the donor file look legitimate.””

Nina rose from the chair.

“I want the clinic records. All of them.””

Marcus shook his head.

“We need the notebook first.””

“No. I want answers now.””

She took out her phone and called the clinic's public number.

A receptionist answered.

“Good evening, Peachtree Reproductive Center.””

“My name is Nina Carter. I need to speak with someone about a medical authorization filed under my name.””

“Certainly. May I have your date of birth?””

Nina provided it.

The receptionist typed.

Then she stopped.

“I'm sorry, Ms. Carter. I'm unable to locate an active patient file.””

“Search the archived records.””

“Those records require additional authorization.””

“I'm the person named on the document.””

“I'm sorry, but I can't release anything without verification.””

Nina closed her eyes.

“Who can authorize the release?””

“The clinic's records administrator.””

“Put me through.””

After several minutes, a man answered.

“This is Dr. Bennett.””

Nina repeated her request.

There was a long silence.

Then he said, “Ms. Carter, I'm afraid you've been given a document that should never have been in circulation.””

Nina's heart pounded.

“Why?””

“Because the authorization was revoked.””

“When?””

“Eight years ago.””

Nina gripped the phone.

“Who revoked it?””

The doctor hesitated.

“Your mother.””

Nina stared at Marcus.

He looked as though someone had struck him.

“My mother?””

“Yes. Evelyn Carter submitted a formal complaint alleging that her daughter's identity had been used without permission.””

Nina could barely speak.

“Did the clinic investigate?””

“Yes.””

“And what did they find?””

The doctor's voice dropped.

“They determined that the authorization had been submitted by someone with access to your mother's legal records.””

“Who?””

Another silence.

Then he said, “A man named Samuel Reed.””

Nina felt the blood drain from her face.

Samuel had used her identity?

Why?

She looked at Marcus.

He seemed just as stunned as she was.

“Doctor,” Nina whispered, “what was Samuel trying to authorize?””

The answer came slowly.

“An embryo transfer using genetic material that had been stored under a confidential donor arrangement.””

Nina closed her eyes.

“Whose genetic material?””

The doctor took a breath.

“I'm sorry, Ms. Carter. I cannot disclose the donor's identity without a court order.””

“Then tell me this. Was the embryo ever transferred to me?””

“No.””

“Was it transferred to Lauren?””

The doctor went silent.

“Doctor?””

“I can't answer that.””

“Why not?””

“Because the record shows that the embryo transfer was canceled.””

Nina stared at the wall.

“But Lauren gave birth this morning.””

“Yes.””

“Then whose embryo was transferred?””

The doctor exhaled.

“That's precisely the discrepancy our legal department is investigating.””

The call ended moments later.

Nina lowered her phone.

Marcus looked at her.

“Something's wrong.””

She nodded.

“Everything is wrong.””

Then Lauren reached for the folder again.

“There was another page,” she whispered.

She pulled out a thin sheet that had been folded inside the back cover.

It contained a short handwritten note.

Nina recognized the handwriting immediately.

Her mother's.

If this file is ever opened again, do not let them use the name Daniel Reed. The original embryo was created for a different purpose, and the child must never become a bargaining chip.

Beneath the note was a date.

Eight years earlier.

And a second sentence:

If Samuel is still alive, tell him I kept my promise.

Nina stared at the page.

Her mother hadn't merely known about the clinic.

She had known about the embryo.

And she had left instructions about the child years before Lauren had ever become pregnant.

Marcus stepped backward.

“That's impossible.””

Nina looked at him.

“Why?””