Chapter 3 - THE SURROGATE WHO KNEW MY NAME
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The court hearing was scheduled for the following Monday.
Until then, Lucas was placed under temporary protective supervision.
I wasn't asking for custody.
Not yet.
I wanted answers first.
Victor found the surrogate.
Her name was Hannah.
She lived in a small town outside Philadelphia.
When I met her, she looked terrified.
“You're Claire.”
“Yes.”
She swallowed.
“I am sorry.”
I sat across from her.
“Did you know the embryo belonged to me?”
She nodded.
“I was told it came from a married couple.”
“That was me and Evan.”
“Yes.”
“Who hired you?”
“The agency.”
“Who paid?”
She looked down.
“Mr. Carlisle.”
“Evan?”
“Yes.”
“Did he tell you anything else?”
“He said the biological mother had abandoned the embryos.”
My heart tightened.
“I never did.”
“I know.”
Hannah pulled a folder from her bag.
“After the birth, I started asking questions.”
“What questions?”
“Why wasn't the biological mother notified?”
“What happened?”
“The agency stopped answering.”
Then Hannah showed me a letter.
A formal notice.
It contained my name.
But the signature was forged.
I stared.
“That's my signature.”
“Yes.”
“It says I surrendered parental rights.”
Hannah nodded.
“You never did.”
“No.”
I felt sick.
“Where did you get this?”
“Evan.”
I closed my eyes.
The extent of his deception was becoming horrifying.
He had built an entirely fictional version of my life.
A life where I had abandoned my child.
A life where he had rescued him.
A life where Marissa became the loving mother.
The perfect story.
Except it was false.
Hannah looked at me.
“There is something else.”
“What?”
“She asked me to tell you if you ever came.”
“Who?”
“The woman who arranged the embryo transfer.”
“Who was she?”
Hannah handed me a photograph.
A woman in a gray suit.
I recognized her immediately.
Marissa's mother.
My former best friend's mother.
I stared.
“Why was she involved?”
Hannah shook her head.
“I don't know.”
Victor looked at the photograph.
His expression changed.
“We need to find her.”
“Why?”
“She was a board member of the fertility clinic.”
I frowned.
“That's not enough.”
Victor pointed toward the bottom of the photograph.
A name was written there.
Dr. Evelyn Cole.
Marissa's mother.
I remembered her.
She had always been kind to me.
She had attended my wedding.
She had hugged me when I cried about fertility treatments.
She had told me to keep hoping.
I suddenly felt sick.
“What did she do?”
Victor answered:
“She signed the transfer authorization.”
The air disappeared from the room.
I sat down.
My former best friend's mother had helped take my embryo.
But why?
We located her that evening.
She was staying at a private rehabilitation center.
When I entered her room, she looked at me.
“You know.”
“Yes.”
She began crying.
“I never wanted this.”
“Then why did you sign?”
“Because Evan threatened me.”
“With what?”
“My daughter's life.”
I froze.
“Marissa?”
She nodded.
“He said if I didn't cooperate, he'd expose a financial crime involving my husband.”
“Your husband?”
“Marissa's father.”
I stared.
“What crime?”
“Fraud.”
My stomach tightened.
“So Evan blackmailed your family.”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“Because he needed the embryo.”
I stepped closer.
“Why?”
She handed me a folder.
Inside were financial records.
The Bennett Medical Foundation.
Transfers.
Donations.
Trust payments.
And a hidden agreement.
Evan had planned to acquire control of the foundation using the unborn child.
I looked at Victor.
“This goes deeper.”
He nodded.
“It does.”
Evelyn whispered:
“Your father knew.”
I looked at her.
“What?”
“He knew Evan was dangerous.”
“Then why did he allow the marriage?”
“He didn't.”
I froze.
“What?”
“Your father tried to stop it.”
I remembered the last fight I had with my father.
The one where he warned me.
He had said:
Do not marry that man.
I had thought he was being overprotective.
Now I understood.
He had known.
“He left me a letter,” Evelyn whispered.
“Where?”
“Your former home.”
I stared.
“That house was sold after the divorce.”
“No.”
She shook her head.
“It was never sold.”
My heart stopped.
“What do you mean?”
“Evan lied.”
Victor looked at me.
“What did he tell you?”
“That the house belonged to him.”
Evelyn shook her head.
“Your father placed it into a trust.”
My blood ran cold.
“Whose trust?”
“Yours.”
May you like
Then she said the words that changed everything:
“The house is where your father hid the original foundation records.”
