Chapter 6 - The Man in the PhotographSomeone had been searching for one of my daughters before she was even born.The man's name was Daniel Hart.
I learned that from Claire.
She had spent most of the day investigating him.
He wasn't a stranger to the fertility clinic.
He wasn't a random donor.
He was the husband of the couple whose embryo had allegedly been mislabeled.
He had been told their transfer had failed.
Except it hadn't.
One of their embryos had been transferred into me.
And one of mine may have been transferred into his wife.
I felt sick.
“What happens now?”
Claire looked at me.
“Now we find out whether the clinic made an actual mistake or whether someone deliberately created one.”
“Evelyn.”
“Possibly.”
“And Brandon.”
“Possibly.”
“Why?”
Claire closed the file.
“Because there is money involved.”
There it was again.
Money.
Always money.
Daniel Hart was the founder of a private investment company worth hundreds of millions.
If one of my daughters was biologically his, she could someday be entitled to a significant inheritance.
I stared at Claire.
“So this isn't about custody.”
“No.”
“It’s about an inheritance.”
“That's my suspicion.”
My stomach turned.
Someone had known.
Someone had looked at two tiny embryos under a microscope and seen dollar signs.
The thought made my skin crawl.
That night, Brandon called.
I answered.
“You knew.”
A pause.
“What are you talking about?”
“The twins.”
Another silence.
Then he said quietly,
“You shouldn't have gone digging.”
My hands tightened around the phone.
“Which girl isn't yours?”
“I don't know.”
“That's not an answer.”
“I don't know.”
“Then why did you threaten me?”
“Because I was angry.”
“You knew before they were born.”
“I had doubts.”
“Doubts?”
“I saw the records.”
“Who showed them to you?”
“My mother.”
“And what did you do?”
“I tried to fix it.”
“By stealing our money?”
“I was trying to protect us.”
“By secretly preparing for custody?”
Silence.
His voice changed.
“I never planned to take the girls from you.”
“You recorded me.”
“Because I was scared.”
“Of me?”
“No.”
He paused.
“Of what would happen if the wrong people found out.”
I stared at the wall.
“Who are the wrong people?”
He didn't answer.
Then he said,
“Daniel Hart.”
My blood froze.
“He knows?”
“He has been searching.”
“For which daughter?”
“I don't know.”
I could hear Brandon breathing.
Then he whispered,
“My mother made a deal.”
“With whom?”
“Daniel.”
“What kind of deal?”
He hung up.
I called back.
Nothing.
Again.
Nothing.
Then Claire's phone rang.
She answered.
Her expression changed.
“What happened?”
She listened.
Then she looked at me.
“Brandon disappeared.”
“What?”
“His car was found outside the airport.”
My heart pounded.
“Was he on a plane?”
“We don't know.”
Then another call came in.
This one was from the police.
They had found Brandon's passport in his car.
And something else.
A second passport.
With another name.
Claire stared at the photograph.
Then she whispered,
“Brandon wasn't using his real name during the fishing trip.”
I felt dizzy.
“What name was he using?”
She turned the document toward me.
The passport read:
Ethan Cole.
I stared at the picture.
Same eyes.
Same face.
Different name.
And beneath his photograph was an occupation.
Financial Consultant.
That was when I understood.
The fishing trip had been a lie.
The money transfer had been a lie.
His identity might even have been a lie.
But before I could speak, Claire received another message.
She read it.
Then her face went pale.
“What?”
She looked at me.
“Daniel Hart wants to meet you.”
“When?”
“Tonight.”
“Why?”
May you like
Claire swallowed.
“He says he knows which daughter is his.”
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