Chapter 8 - The Children Who Came Before
“Claire, your baby isn’t the first child from your embryos.”
Claire stared at the phone.
The woman on the screen was Rachel Monroe.
Her former fertility nurse.
The woman who had held Claire’s hand during the embryo transfer.
The woman who had called three weeks later and cried with her when the pregnancy test came back positive.
Now Rachel stood inside Bellweather Fertility with both hands resting on a visibly pregnant stomach.
Claire could barely speak.
“Rachel?”
Daniel took the phone from Lauren.
“What did she mean?”
On-screen, Victoria turned toward Rachel.
“Tell them.”
Rachel’s face tightened.
“I didn’t know where the embryos came from.”
Claire felt sick.
“What embryos?”
Rachel looked directly into the camera.
“Yours.”
Daniel’s hand began shaking.
“No.”
Claire clutched her newborn daughter against her chest.
Rachel continued.
“Bellweather told me they came from an anonymous donor program.”
“They were never donated,” Claire whispered.
Rachel closed her eyes.
“I know that now.”
Daniel looked at Victor.
The old man said nothing.
Michael stepped toward him.
“You transferred stolen embryos.”
Victor’s expression remained calm.
“I authorized research.”
“Into women who didn’t know?”
“They consented to fertility treatment.”
“That is not consent.”
Victor shrugged.
Daniel lunged.
This time Andrew stopped him.
“Not now.”
Daniel shoved his arm away.
“Stop protecting him.”
“I’m protecting you from wasting time.”
Andrew pointed at the phone.
“Victoria is at Bellweather. That means she found something.”
Claire forced herself to focus.
Rachel was still speaking.
“There were five transfers.”
Claire stared.
“Five?”
Rachel nodded.
“Over four years.”
“Were there pregnancies?”
Silence.
Claire’s heart began pounding.
“Rachel.”
“Yes.”
“How many?”
Rachel looked toward Victoria.
Victoria answered.
“Three.”
Claire closed her eyes.
Daniel went completely still.
Three pregnancies.
Their embryos.
Their genetic children.
Born to strangers.
Claire looked down at the newborn in her arms.
Her daughter slept peacefully.
Claire felt as though the world had split open beneath her.
“Where are they?”
Victoria’s face changed.
“That’s what I’m trying to find out.”
Claire stared at the screen.
“You expect me to believe you?”
“No.”
Victoria didn’t hesitate.
“You shouldn’t trust me after today.”
That surprised Claire.
Victoria continued.
“I locked you in that bathroom because I believed I could control the situation.”
“You told me my baby could wait.”
“I know.”
“You stopped Daniel from calling an ambulance.”
“I believed the county dispatch network was compromised.”
“You could have told us.”
“I should have.”
Claire’s voice broke.
“You terrified me.”
Victoria looked down.
“I know.”
For once, no excuse followed.
Claire appreciated that more than another explanation.
Daniel stepped closer to the phone.
“Mom, where are the children?”
“I have partial records.”
“How old?”
“The oldest transfer occurred four years ago.”
Daniel looked at Claire.
Their fertility treatment had begun three years earlier.
Claire whispered, “That was before Bellweather ever collected my eggs.”
Rachel shook her head.
“That’s the part that doesn’t make sense.”
Samuel moved closer.
“What?”
Rachel lifted a file.
“The embryos were logged under Claire’s patient number before Claire became a patient.”
Claire’s stomach dropped.
“That’s impossible.”
Victor smiled.
Andrew noticed.
“You know.”
Victor tapped his cane.
“Of course.”
Daniel turned.
“Explain.”
Victor looked at Claire.
“The embryos were not all created from Claire’s fertility cycle.”
Silence.
Claire felt cold.
“Then how could they be mine?”
Victor’s eyes moved toward Margaret.
Margaret looked terrified.
Claire followed his gaze.
“Aunt Margaret?”
Margaret whispered, “I didn’t know they survived.”
Rebecca stepped toward her.
“What survived?”
Margaret covered her mouth.
Victor answered.
“Eleanor’s original embryos.”
Andrew froze.
“My mother’s?”
Victor nodded.
“Some.”
Claire stared.
“What does that have to do with me?”
Victor smiled faintly.
“Everything.”
Margaret stepped between them.
“Don’t listen to him.”
Claire’s voice hardened.
“Then you tell me.”
Margaret looked at her.
“Eleanor collected genetic material from women in our family.”
“When?”
“Decades ago.”
“From my mother?”
Margaret’s silence answered.
Claire recoiled.
“My mother died when I was seventeen.”
“I know.”
“Was she part of this?”
“She participated in medical research.”
“Did she know what kind?”
“No.”
Claire closed her eyes.
Another person lied to.
Another woman used.
Daniel placed a hand on her shoulder.
Claire looked at Margaret.
“Did Eleanor create embryos using my mother’s eggs?”
Margaret shook her head.
“No.”
Victor laughed.
Margaret spun toward him.
“Stop.”
“You still don’t understand the science.”
“And you still don’t understand people.”
Victor smiled.
“Science outlives people.”
Claire’s newborn stirred.
The tiny sound silenced him.
Claire looked at Victor.
“Not her.”
Something about Claire’s voice made even Victor stop smiling.
Andrew turned toward Margaret.
“What were the original embryos?”
Margaret hesitated.
“Research embryos.”
“Whose genetic material?”
“I don’t know all of it.”
Victor said, “I do.”
Michael grabbed his cane.
“Then talk.”
Victor looked at him.
“Eleanor was trying to remove the cardiac mutation while preserving the resilience marker.”
Samuel frowned.
“Embryo selection?”
“Initially.”
“And later?”
“Cell-line research.”
Claire shook her head.
“This still doesn’t explain why Bellweather labeled them as mine.”
Victoria’s voice came from the phone.
“I can.”
Everyone turned back to the screen.
Victoria held up a document.
“Bellweather relabeled every Continuity embryo when Claire enrolled.”
Daniel stared.
“Why?”
“To hide them inside a legitimate fertility account.”
Claire’s mouth fell open.
“They used me as a cover.”
“Yes.”
“Who ordered it?”
Victoria looked directly into the camera.
“Andrew.”
Silence.
Every head turned.
Andrew didn’t move.
Daniel stared at him.
“What?”
Andrew looked at Victoria on the phone.
“That’s not true.”
Victoria held up the page.
“Your authorization.”
Andrew stepped closer.
“Show me.”
Victoria brought the document toward the camera.
A signature appeared at the bottom.
ANDREW COLE, M.D.
Daniel looked at him.
“You signed it.”
“No.”
“Everyone says that when their signature appears.”
“I did not sign that document.”
Victor laughed.
“Like father, like son.”
Andrew turned on him.
“You forged it.”
Victor shrugged.
Andrew looked back at the screen.
“What date?”
Victoria read it.
Andrew froze.
Michael noticed.
“What?”
Andrew looked at Daniel.
“That was the day of your accident.”
Daniel stared.
Six years ago.
Again.
The date everything seemed to lead back to.
Andrew continued.
“I was at County Regional that entire night.”
Samuel shook his head.
“No. You weren’t.”
Andrew turned.
Samuel’s face had changed.
“You came to St. Matthew’s.”
“No.”
“I saw you.”
“You saw someone using my credentials.”
Samuel stepped closer.
“I spoke to you.”
Andrew stared.
“What did I say?”
Samuel paused.
Then his face drained of color.
“You said Michael was dead.”
Michael looked at him.
Samuel continued.
“You told me to move Anna’s records into Daniel’s file.”
Andrew shook his head.
“I never said that.”
Samuel whispered, “Then who did?”
Rebecca looked at Daniel.
Daniel looked at Michael.
Claire felt a new fear spreading.
Someone had been impersonating Andrew.
For years.
Rachel suddenly spoke through the phone.
“There’s another file.”
Victoria turned.
“What?”
Rachel pulled a folder from a cabinet.
“This one wasn’t digitized.”
She opened it.
Claire watched her scan the first page.
Rachel’s face changed.
“Oh my God.”
“What?” Victoria demanded.
Rachel looked into the camera.
“The five transfers weren’t the only ones.”
Claire stopped breathing.
“How many?”
Rachel turned another page.
“Eleven.”
Daniel grabbed the phone.
“You said five.”
“Five under Bellweather.”
“And the other six?”
Rachel swallowed.
“Other clinics.”
Claire felt dizzy.
“Pregnancies?”
Rachel scanned the records.
“Four confirmed births.”
Claire stared.
Four.
Four children.
Possibly carrying genetic material connected to her family.
Living somewhere.
Unaware.
Daniel asked, “Where?”
“The records use codes.”
“Decode them.”
“I’m trying.”
Victor stood.
Everyone looked at him.
He seemed almost pleased.
“Eleven.”
Michael stared.
“You didn’t know.”
Victor ignored him.
“You didn’t know,” Michael repeated.
Victor’s expression slipped.
Just slightly.
That was enough.
Andrew saw it.
“Someone continued the program without you.”
Victor’s face hardened.
“No.”
“Yes.”
“I controlled every transfer.”
Rachel spoke from the phone.
“No, you didn’t.”
Victor looked toward the screen.
Rachel held up a page.
“The authorization code isn’t yours.”
Victor moved closer.
“What code?”
Rachel read it.
“E-H-Zero-One.”
Victor stopped.
Margaret whispered, “Eleanor.”
Andrew stared.
“My mother.”
Victor shook his head.
“No.”
Rachel continued.
“Every transfer after the first five was authorized under E.H.-01.”
Victor looked genuinely frightened.
“That account was terminated thirty years ago.”
Victoria whispered, “Unless Eleanor reactivated it.”
Claire looked at Andrew.
“You think your mother is alive.”
Andrew stared at Victor.
“I’m beginning to.”
Margaret stepped forward.
“No.”
Rebecca looked at her.
“What?”
Margaret’s expression was strange.
Not disbelief.
Recognition.
Rebecca moved closer.
“You know.”
Margaret shook her head.
“Mom.”
“Rebecca.”
“You know where Eleanor is.”
Margaret’s eyes filled.
Claire whispered, “Aunt Margaret.”
Margaret looked around the room.
Then at Victor.
Finally she said, “Eleanor contacted me eleven years ago.”
Rebecca’s face emptied.
“The year you died.”
“Yes.”
“You faked your death because of her?”
“Yes.”
Michael stared.
“What did she want?”
“To stop the transfers.”
Andrew looked at her.
“Why didn’t you tell me she was alive?”
“Because she made me promise.”
“She was my mother.”
“She was terrified of you.”
Andrew recoiled.
“Of me?”
Margaret nodded.
“She believed someone was using your identity.”
Samuel whispered, “The man I met.”
“Yes.”
Daniel looked at Andrew.
“Who could impersonate you that closely?”
Andrew said nothing.
Michael stared at him.
Then something changed in his face.
“No.”
Andrew looked at him.
Michael whispered, “There was another child.”
Victor’s cane slipped.
It struck the floor.
Everyone turned.
Andrew stared at Victor.
“What child?”
Victor bent slowly to retrieve the cane.
Michael grabbed it first.
“What child?”
Victor looked at him.
“Give me that.”
Michael threw it across the room.
“What child?”
Andrew stepped forward.
“My mother had another baby?”
Victor’s face hardened.
“No.”
Margaret whispered, “Yes.”
Andrew turned.
Margaret was crying.
“Eleanor gave birth before Victoria.”
Victor shouted, “Enough!”
Daniel blocked him.
Margaret continued.
“A son.”
Andrew stared.
“My brother?”
“Yes.”
“What happened to him?”
“Victor removed him from the family.”
Victor’s face twisted.
“He was dangerous.”
“He was a child.”
“He became dangerous.”
Andrew’s voice dropped.
“What was his name?”
Margaret looked at Victor.
“Edward.”
Victor closed his eyes.
Michael whispered, “Edward Harrow.”
Andrew stared at Margaret.
“Why was I never told?”
“Because Victor said Edward died.”
Claire almost laughed from disbelief.
Another dead person.
Another erased name.
Daniel clearly thought the same thing.
“Let me guess.”
He looked at Victor.
“He didn’t die.”
Victor said nothing.
That was enough.
Victoria’s voice suddenly came through the phone.
“Rachel found the transfer destinations.”
Claire turned.
“Where?”
Rachel appeared again.
“Four confirmed births.”
She read from the file.
“Denver. Boston. Seattle.”
She stopped.
Daniel frowned.
“And the fourth?”
Rachel stared at the page.
“Here.”
Claire’s skin went cold.
“What does here mean?”
Rachel looked up.
“Harrow County.”
Daniel stepped toward the phone.
“Name.”
“The child was born three years ago.”
“Name.”
Rachel hesitated.
“The record is sealed.”
Victoria grabbed the file.
“Give me that.”
She scanned it.
Her expression changed.
“Daniel.”
“What?”
Victoria looked terrified.
“The guardian listed on the birth record is someone you know.”
Daniel’s voice dropped.
“Who?”
Before Victoria could answer, the laboratory lights went out.
The video turned black.
Claire heard Rachel scream.
Then the connection died.
“Mom!”
Daniel stared at the frozen screen.
Lauren grabbed his arm.
The phone vibrated.
A photograph arrived.
Daniel opened it.
A little boy stood beside a playground.
Dark hair.
Gray eyes.
Three curved lines visible near the collar of his shirt.
The same birthmark as Claire’s newborn.
Beneath the photograph was one sentence.
YOU HAVE ALREADY MET HIM.
Claire stared.
Daniel went pale.
“I know that boy.”
“Who is he?” Claire whispered.
Daniel looked at her.
“He was at our house last Christmas.”
Claire’s heart stopped.
She remembered.
A quiet little boy.
A child Andrew had introduced as the son of a colleague.
Rebecca whispered, “Andrew?”
Andrew’s face had turned white.
“I didn’t know.”
Daniel stared at him.
“You brought him into my home.”
“I swear I didn’t know.”
The phone vibrated again.
A video call.
Unknown number.
Daniel answered.
The little boy appeared on-screen.
He was crying.
Someone stood behind him.
Only a hand was visible on his shoulder.
Claire leaned toward the screen.
“Sweetheart, where are you?”
The boy sniffed.
A man whispered something to him.
The child looked into the camera.
“Mr. Daniel?”
Daniel’s voice softened.
“Yes. I’m here.”
The boy looked over his shoulder.
Then back at Daniel.
“He told me to call you Dad.”
The room went silent.
Daniel stopped breathing.
Claire stared at the screen.
The camera slowly pulled back.
A man stepped into view behind the child.
Andrew made a broken sound.
Victor stumbled backward.
May you like
And the stranger smiled with Andrew’s exact face.
“Hello, brother.”
