Chapter 6 - The Embryos Were Never His to Promise
I sat in my car for forty minutes after reading the surrogate file.
Not crying.
Not moving.
Just staring at the steering wheel.
There are betrayals the mind understands quickly.
Affair.
Money.
Lies.
Then there are betrayals that attack identity itself.
Julian had considered using embryos created from my body to create a child while excluding me from the decision.
Maybe legally impossible.
Maybe never close to execution.
But he had asked.
That was enough.
Naomi insisted we distinguish fantasy planning from actual conduct.
“He explored it. He did not transfer an embryo.”
“I know.”
“Important legally.”
“I know.”
Emotionally, the question remained.
Who did he imagine as the second parent?
Serena?
Someone else?
The draft left it blank.
Serena denied knowing.
I believed her.
She looked physically ill when prosecutors showed her.
“That man is insane.”
Brandon responded through counsel:
“You married me.”
Family humor had become sharp.
Then Julian requested a meeting with prosecutors.
He had seen Victor’s empire collapsing.
He wanted a deal.
His attorney offered:
Full testimony against Victor Hale and Lewis Barton.
Corporate data theft details.
Dr. Keene arrangement.
Claire communications.
In exchange, reduction of charges and consideration in reproductive-fraud case.
I wanted maximum punishment.
Then I stopped.
That was emotion.
Prosecutors decide.
My role:
Truth about impact.
Evidence.
Boundaries.
I gave a victim statement regarding embryo concealment.
“I was told no viable embryos existed. I grieved accordingly. My husband possessed information showing four viable embryos remained and intentionally withheld it for financial reasons connected to my family company. Whatever the law calls this, it altered major medical and life decisions without my informed consent.”
That was enough.
Julian’s proffer answered many questions.
He met Victor Hale through Lewis Barton.
At first, Victor wanted inside information.
Julian felt humiliated by my status.
There.
Old wound.
“I was Elena Vance’s husband everywhere,” he said.
Not Julian.
Not his own career.
He resented it.
Victor noticed.
Offered importance.
Money.
A future executive role after acquisition.
Julian began sharing documents.
Then learned about my family trust during fertility planning.
The descendant provisions meant future family governance could become more complex.
Victor asked whether pregnancy could be delayed.
Julian said yes.
“I didn’t initially plan to lie about embryos.”
How comforting.
What changed?
Our first cycle produced viable embryos sooner than expected.
Victor said timing was bad.
Julian spoke to Keene.
Keene agreed to manipulate communications.
The rest happened.
“Why keep them?”
Julian answered:
“Because I wanted children eventually.”
My stomach turned.
With me?
“Yes.”
He claimed yes.
“After the sale, I planned to tell Elena the clinic discovered a storage error.”
A miracle.
Exactly.
He intended to return my stolen choice as good news.
“What if Elena no longer wanted a child with you?”
“I assumed she would.”
Assumed.
Again.
Entitlement often lives inside assumptions about consent.
The surrogate research?
After the affair began, Julian feared divorce.
Victor asked whether embryo-related trust rights could still be useful if Julian retained parental involvement.
A lawyer researched scenarios.
No plan finalized.
Still grotesque.
The affair with Serena began because they spent time together working against the family.
Shared secrecy became intimacy.
Not romantic destiny.
Conspiracy proximity.
Julian admitted he encouraged Serena to build a custody case against Brandon.
Why?
Leverage over voting shares.
He told Serena Brandon cheated.
False.
He knew.
The cruelty was strategic.
Dad’s incapacity plan came later.
Victor needed a way to bypass him if North Crest negotiations failed.
Keene would create medical doubt.
Lewis would prepare emergency governance documents.
Claire would persuade Dad to step back voluntarily if possible.
If not, board members could raise capacity concerns.
No physical harm planned.
Important.
Still devastating.
“What was North Crest’s role?” prosecutors asked.
“Mostly unaware.”
Victor used their legitimate interest to generate urgency.
He planned to sabotage negotiations, then present Redmont-linked financing through another vehicle once Vance stock valuation fell.
Redmont corporate leadership denied involvement.
Two former Redmont executives appeared tied privately.
Investigation continued.
Victor Hale’s goal was not simply acquire Vance.
It was profit from restructuring and breakup.
Family collapse lowered resistance.
The strategy might have succeeded.
If my flight had not been canceled.
That bothered me.
A storm.
One weather delay.
I came home.
Saw the affair.
Started investigating.
Then committed my own stupid retaliatory act.
Hospital exposed them.
Safe opened.
Folders found.
The conspiracy unraveled.
Chance plays an uncomfortable role in justice.
We like to imagine systems catch wrongdoing inevitably.
They do not.
Sometimes rain delays flights.
Sometimes a spouse returns early.
Sometimes a folder is found.
Better systems should not depend on luck.
Dad took that lesson seriously.
Vance Global overhauled governance.
No single general counsel controlled document versions.
Board portal audit reviewed independently.
Family members subject to same access restrictions.
Spousal access to executive devices prohibited.
Related-party disclosure annual.
Whistleblower hotline external.
Not glamorous.
Useful.
I returned fully to CFO duties after special committee cleared me of corporate wrongdoing beyond security negligence related to home access.
My plea did not automatically disqualify me, but board ethics reviewed it.
I disclosed publicly to employees:
“I responded to personal betrayal with an unsafe retaliatory act. I accepted legal responsibility. The company’s investigation is separate.”
Some directors thought I should resign.
I considered it.
Then the board voted.
I remained, subject to ethics monitoring.
I did not feel entitled to stay.
That made staying easier.
Brandon rejoined operations leadership after his divorce.
We worked better.
Less rivalry.
Dad finally acknowledged how much comparing us had damaged things.
“I called Elena brilliant and Brandon steady.”
Brandon laughed.
“Translation: she gets ideas, I carry boxes.”
Dad winced.
“I meant—”
“We know.”
Labels become cages even when flattering.
We changed roles based on skill, not childhood story.
Claire cooperated with prosecutors.
She was not charged with the most serious conspiracy counts due insufficient evidence she knew full plan, but faced civil penalties, foundation governance consequences, and possible charges related to undisclosed quid-pro-quo communications depending on proof.
She and Dad divorced.
Quietly.
No public war.
Dad was devastated.
He still loved her.
Betrayal does not erase attachment on schedule.
He asked me:
“Do you think I was stupid?”
“No.”
“Everyone keeps saying Victor exploited people’s weaknesses.”
“Yes.”
“What was mine?”
“You wanted someone to tell you retirement was allowed.”
Dad looked at me.
Claire had done that.
Victor used it.
“Does that make her love fake?”
“No.”
Good.
Love and betrayal.
Again.
The embryos remained in storage.
My divorce court temporarily prohibited either party from unilateral action.
Julian eventually waived any claim as part of broader settlement negotiations.
Not a gift.
A legal concession influenced by his misconduct.
Then the storage center transferred decision authority to me alone after court order, subject to medical law and original consent terms.
I held the paperwork.
Four embryos.
My choice.
For the first time.
Everyone expected me to decide.
Use them.
Destroy them.
Donate them.
Keep frozen.
I chose:
Nothing yet.
Naomi smiled.
“That is a decision.”
Yes.
Choice includes waiting.
For years, Julian had controlled timing.
May you like
Now no one would rush me.
Not even hope.
