Chapter 6
The little boy in the photograph had my father's eyes.
That was the first thing I noticed.
Not the dark curls.
Not the dimples.
Not even the resemblance to Jacob.
His eyes.
My father had died eleven years earlier.
But I had spent my entire childhood looking into those same warm brown eyes.
Now they were staring at me from a photograph of a child I'd never met.
"Who is he?" I whispered.
Detective Brooks studied my face.
"His name is Oliver."
I touched the edge of the photograph.
"How old?"
"Six."
"Where does he live?"
She hesitated.
"We're still verifying his identity and records."
My chest tightened.
"Does he have parents?"
"Yes."
I exhaled.
"Good."
Everyone looked at me.
I wiped my eyes.
"If he's safe and loved, that's what matters."
Detective Brooks nodded.
"We're not here to disrupt a child's family. But we need to understand whether the same laboratory was involved."
I looked at Oliver's photograph again.
"Does his family know?"
"Not yet. We need stronger evidence before approaching them."
I handed it back.
"Then please be careful."
She slipped it into the folder.
"I will."
After the detective left, I went into the hospital bathroom.
I locked the door.
And I finally fell apart.
I sat on the closed toilet seat and cried until my chest hurt.
I wasn't crying because I suddenly wanted to claim every child connected to my DNA.
I was crying because someone had taken away my right to decide what happened to my body.
Someone had created lives from my eggs.
Someone had collected money.
And for twenty-five years, I had been allowed to believe nothing unusual had happened.
A knock came at the door.
"Mom?"
Jacob.
I wiped my face.
"I'm okay."
"No, you're not."
His voice was gentle.
"Please open the door."
I unlocked it.
My youngest son stood outside.
He didn't say anything.
He just opened his arms.
I stepped into them.
"I'm sorry," I whispered.
He pulled back.
"For what?"
"For all this."
He shook his head.
"Mom, look at me."
I did.
"You didn't do anything wrong."
His voice cracked.
"You gave us the best childhood anyone could ask for. You loved us every day."
I started crying again.
"Jacob—"
"And whatever those people did, it doesn't change who you are."
I kissed his forehead.
Sometimes I forgot that the little boy who once needed me to tie his shoes had become a man capable of holding me together.
"Thank you, baby."
He smiled.
"Always."
That afternoon, an independent laboratory collected new DNA samples from me and Daisy with Leah's consent.
I wanted certainty.
Not assumptions.
Not old paperwork.
Something nobody could manipulate.
While we waited, hospital social workers arranged temporary protection for Leah and Daisy.
Leah remained Daisy's legal mother.
The hospital also began investigating how Christopher had been given fraudulent release documents.
I asked the social worker a question.
"Can Daisy stay with Leah?"
The woman nodded.
"Yes. Unless a court determines otherwise, Leah retains her parental rights."
I felt relief wash over me.
"What if Victor tries to claim custody?"
"He would need a valid legal basis. The police are investigating the documents he presented."
I turned toward Leah.
"You're not alone in this."
She squeezed my hand.
"Neither are you."
By evening, the police had obtained a warrant for Patricia's home.
Christopher was sitting beside me when Detective Brooks called.
"We found something," she said.
"What?"
"A locked storage cabinet."
My heart raced.
"With what inside?"
"Copies of financial transactions. Patient names. Laboratory correspondence."
I looked at Christopher.
He straightened.
Detective Brooks continued.
"And a handwritten ledger."
I felt sick.
"What kind of ledger?"
"Payments connected to unauthorized embryo transfers."
I pressed the phone harder against my ear.
"Was my name in it?"
"Yes."
I closed my eyes.
"How much?"
She paused.
"The entries associated with your file total more than six hundred thousand dollars."
I couldn't speak.
Six hundred thousand dollars.
Someone had earned that much money from something taken from me while I was unconscious.
"Where is Patricia now?"
"We believe she left the state."
"And Victor?"
"We're actively looking for him."
I stared out the hospital window.
The sun was setting.
Somewhere out there, my sister-in-law was running.
And Victor Lang was still free.
Detective Brooks lowered her voice.
"Mrs. Hayes, there's something else."
My body tensed.
"What?"
"We found correspondence between Patricia and a private fertility brokerage."
"Okay."
"Some of it refers to a final scheduled transfer."
My stomach dropped.
"Of what?"
"An embryo."
I covered my mouth.
"When?"
"Next week."
For a moment, I couldn't understand.
Then I whispered, "Another one of mine?"
"We haven't confirmed that yet."
I looked toward Daisy.
She was sleeping in Leah's arms.
"Please stop it."
"We're working on it."
"No."
My voice grew stronger.
"Please understand me. Those people have already stolen twenty-five years from me."
I swallowed.
"Don't let them do this to another woman."
Detective Brooks promised to contact the appropriate authorities and seek an emergency order to secure any remaining material.
When the call ended, Christopher reached for my hand.
I let him touch my fingers.
But I didn't hold on.
"Rebecca," he whispered, "I wish I could undo everything."
I looked at him.
"So do I."
"I never imagined this could happen."
"You should have told me."
"I know."
"Twenty-five years, Christopher."
He nodded.
"I was afraid you'd leave me."
The honesty hurt.
I stared at the man I had loved since I was twenty-three.
"And now?"
His eyes filled.
"Now I'm afraid I've lost you anyway."
I didn't answer.
Because I didn't know.
Love doesn't disappear in a single night.
But trust can.
And I wasn't ready to pretend otherwise.
The next morning, the laboratory results arrived.
Dr. Miller asked me and Leah to sit down.
Christopher stood near the door.
My sons waited in the hallway.
The doctor placed the report between us.
"Both samples have been independently verified."
I stopped breathing.
He looked at me.
"Rebecca, the testing confirms that you are Daisy's genetic mother."
My eyes filled.
I turned toward Leah.
She began crying.
I reached for her hand.
Dr. Miller continued.
"And the genetic testing confirms that Christopher is not Daisy's biological father."
Christopher lowered his head.
I stared at the report.
There it was.
The truth.
Not a suspicion.
Not a preliminary comparison.
Proof.
Daisy carried my DNA.
A tiny baby born twenty-two years after my last pregnancy.
A daughter I hadn't known existed.
Leah squeezed my fingers.
"Rebecca?"
I couldn't speak.
She smiled through her tears.
"Would you like to hold her?"
I looked at Daisy.
Then at Leah.
"Are you sure?"
She nodded.
I carefully lifted Daisy into my arms.
My daughter.
And Leah's daughter.
Two mothers connected by something neither had chosen.
Daisy opened her eyes.
For a moment, she looked straight at me.
I smiled through my tears.
"Hello again, little miracle."
Then my phone rang.
Detective Brooks.
I answered immediately.
"Rebecca, listen carefully."
Her voice was tense.
"We've located Victor Lang."
My heart jumped.
"Where?"
"At a private clinic outside the city."
"Did you arrest him?"
"Not yet."
I felt my stomach twist.
"Why?"
"Because he's holding something we need to recover safely."
I tightened my arms around Daisy.
"What?"
May you like
Detective Brooks inhaled.
"The remaining embryos connected to your file."
