Chapter 16 - THE DIVORCE HE DIDN'T EXPECT
I filed for divorce ten days after Grace was born.
Adrian did not contest it.
He did contest custody.
Until the fertility records became evidence.
Until investigators confirmed he had illegally accessed my prenatal files.
Until Vanessa provided messages showing Adrian had planned to leave me after Grace’s blood sample was collected.
Then his attorney changed strategy.
Adrian withdrew his custody petition.
He requested supervised visitation.
I agreed only after Grace received an independent guardian ad litem and my attorney approved every condition.
Biology did not make Adrian her father.
But he had spent my pregnancy claiming the role.
I would not allow him to use Grace again.
Nor would I use her to punish him.
The criminal investigation expanded.
Victor Vale was charged with conspiracy, evidence tampering, financial fraud, and obstruction connected to the hospital records scheme.
Several former St. Catherine administrators were arrested.
Adrian cooperated.
That reduced what might have happened to him.
It did not erase what he had done to me.
Vale Biomedical’s board removed him.
My 18.6-percent stake suddenly mattered more than ever.
I voted for an independent restructuring.
Victims of the hospital records scheme received access to a compensation fund.
For the first time, M-17 stopped being a weapon.
It became evidence.
My father testified.
So did Michael.
The brothers sat beside each other afterward in silence.
Thirty lost years could not be repaired in a courthouse.
But they could begin somewhere.
And Luka?
Luka remained close.
Too close sometimes.
He slept in the guest room of my new house because threats continued during the investigation.
He warmed bottles at two in the morning.
He learned Grace hated cold wipes.
He discovered she stopped crying when someone hummed badly.
Unfortunately, Luka hummed very badly.
One night, I found him asleep in a chair with Grace on his chest.
The tattooed man who had frightened half the maternity floor was holding my daughter with one hand spread protectively across her tiny back.
I stood in the doorway longer than I should have.
His eyes opened.
“How long have you been standing there?”
“Long enough to confirm you can’t sing.”
“I wasn’t singing.”
“Good.”
He looked down at Grace.
“She disagrees.”
I smiled.
Then my eyes drifted toward his hands.
Toward the hand that had signed the father line.
“You know that signature never became legal.”
“I know.”
“The hospital voided the document.”
“I know.”
“So why did you do it?”
Luka was quiet.
Then he answered.
“Because for one minute, you looked like everyone in the world had decided to leave you.”
May you like
His eyes met mine.
“I wanted one name on that page to say otherwise.”
