Chapter 12 - The Child Nobody Buried.
Adrian did not speak for almost ten minutes.
He sat beside the window holding the copy of Lillian Hart's birth certificate as if it might vanish if he loosened his grip.
Claire watched him from the bed.
She felt sympathy trying to rise inside her.
She refused to confuse sympathy with forgiveness.
Two truths could exist at the same time.
Adrian had betrayed her.
Adrian had also just learned that a daughter he believed never lived might be somewhere in the world.
Margaret was the first to speak.
"We need to find her."
Adrian nodded without looking up.
Claire looked at Detective Keene.
"Can you?"
"We can search public and sealed records with the appropriate orders."
"Do it."
Adrian looked at Claire.
"You do not have to be involved in this."
Claire's expression hardened.
"Vanessa tried to take my daughter."
She looked at Lucy.
"Everything involving Vanessa is now my business."
Keene left to coordinate with city detectives.
Dr. Harris insisted Claire sleep.
She refused until Mia brought all three bassinets close enough that Claire could touch them from the bed.
Only then did exhaustion win.
She woke three hours later to raised voices in the hallway.
Victor Cole had returned.
This time, he had two attorneys with him.
"I am not asking to see Claire," he said.
"I am here to speak with Adrian."
Adrian stepped into the hallway and closed the door behind him.
Claire immediately asked Margaret to open the shade.
"You should rest," Margaret said.
"I have rested enough while other people made decisions around me."
Margaret opened it.
Claire watched through the glass.
Victor spoke calmly.
Adrian did not.
Even without hearing every word, Claire could see the argument tightening.
Then Victor handed Adrian a document.
Adrian read it.
His face changed.
He pushed it back.
Victor smiled.
Claire's phone rang.
Unknown number.
She almost ignored it.
Something made her answer.
"Mrs. Cole?"
The woman's voice was nervous.
"Yes."
"My name is Hannah Price."
Claire waited.
"I used to work at Bellweather."
Claire sat straighter.
"How did you get my number?"
"Daniel Monroe gave it to me months ago."
Claire's pulse increased.
"Why?"
"He told me if anything happened to him, and if your pregnancy ever became part of a dispute, I should contact you directly."
Claire gripped the phone.
"What do you know?"
The woman began crying softly.
"I know why Vanessa created MON-214."
Claire looked at the babies.
"Tell me."
"It was not meant to represent a donor embryo."
"Then what was it?"
"A ghost record."
Claire frowned.
"What does that mean?"
"A fake inventory slot that could be assigned to a real embryo later."
"Whose embryo?"
Hannah hesitated.
"Vanessa's."
Claire's blood went cold.
"Explain that sentence."
"Vanessa had embryos stored at Bellweather from years ago."
Claire looked toward Adrian through the glass.
"With Adrian?"
"I don't know whose genetic material was used."
"But she had embryos."
"Yes."
"And she created a fake code around my transfer date."
"Yes."
Claire struggled to breathe steadily.
"Did she switch one of my embryos?"
"Daniel believed she planned to."
"Planned?"
"He stopped it."
Claire closed her eyes.
"How do you know?"
"Because I was there."
Hannah's voice shook.
"The night before your transfer, Vanessa entered the laboratory after hours."
"And?"
"Daniel caught her with a cryostorage canister open."
Claire pressed a hand to her forehead.
"Did he report her?"
"He reported it to Dr. Bellweather."
"What happened?"
"Nothing."
Claire opened her eyes.
"Nothing?"
"Vanessa said she was verifying inventory for an audit."
"Did Daniel believe her?"
"No."
"Did you?"
"No."
"Then why wasn't she fired?"
Hannah's silence lasted too long.
Claire's voice became quiet.
"Who protected her?"
"A board investor."
Claire knew the answer before Hannah said it.
"Victor Cole."
Hannah exhaled.
"Yes."
Claire looked through the glass again.
Victor was still talking to Adrian.
His expression was patient and confident.
"Why are you telling me this now?"
"Because Daniel is dead."
Hannah's voice broke.
"And because Vanessa called me this morning."
Claire went still.
"From jail?"
"No."
"She has been arrested."
"Then someone used her phone."
Claire's skin prickled.
"What did the caller say?"
"They said I should remember what happened to Daniel before I talked to anyone."
Claire's gaze fixed on Victor.
"Where are you?"
"At home."
"Do not stay there."
"What?"
"Call the police and go somewhere public."
Claire pressed the nurse call button.
"Then give Detective Keene everything."
Hannah began to protest.
Claire interrupted.
"Daniel tried to protect my babies before they even existed outside my body."
Her voice shook with anger.
"Do not let the people who scared him win twice."
Hannah became quiet.
"Okay."
Claire ended the call.
At the same moment, Adrian returned to the room holding the document Victor had given him.
"What did he want?"
Claire asked.
Adrian placed the paper on her tray.
It was a proposed agreement.
Victor would withdraw the probate petition.
In exchange, Adrian would voluntarily delay claiming control of Cole Meridian for five years.
He would also agree not to pursue any civil claims related to Bellweather's records.
Claire read it once.
Then she looked up.
"He is buying silence."
Adrian nodded.
"Yes."
"What did you tell him?"
Adrian looked toward the door.
"I told him I would think about it."
Claire's eyes narrowed.
He held her gaze.
Then, for the first time in days, a faint understanding passed between them.
He had finally learned not to show the enemy what he knew.
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