Chapter 17 - THE SECOND EMBRYO
Investigators returned to the fertility clinic.
The clinic had stored two embryos.
The first record listed Daniel as the father.
The second file had been hidden.
Its genetic profile did not belong to Daniel.
The listed father was Marcus Vale.
Vanessa had created embryos with both men.
She intended to choose whichever pregnancy gave her greater leverage.
Marcus’s embryo carried a micro-storage capsule attached to the preservation container.
The capsule held encrypted company code.
Vanessa had helped Marcus remove core software from Mercer Systems by hiding it inside the fertility transport process.
The clinic had shipped the container to a laboratory in Switzerland.
Raymond’s company planned to extract the data after the merger.
The embryo had become cover for corporate theft.
Daniel sat in silence when Evelyn explained.
He had been betrayed emotionally, financially, and biologically.
Still, he looked toward me.
“What happens to the embryos?”
“The court will determine custody and destruction rights.”
“The stolen data will be separated first.”
He nodded.
For once, he did not demand immediate control over something connected to his name.
Vanessa accepted a plea agreement.
In exchange for explaining the fertility scheme, she received a reduced sentence.
She admitted she had never intended to carry either embryo herself.
A surrogate had been contracted under false documents.
The pregnancy announcement in the garden was only the first stage.
After the wedding, Vanessa planned to claim a medical emergency.
Months later, she would present a baby as Daniel’s heir.
The second embryo gave Marcus his own route into the family trust.
Everyone had been preparing to use a child who did not yet exist.
The court ordered both embryos preserved while criminal proceedings continued.
An independent guardian represented their legal interests.
No implantation could occur.
The stolen software was recovered.
Mercer Systems survived.
But Daniel refused to return as sole chief executive.
He created a shared leadership council.
Employees gained voting seats.
The family trust became transparent.
Every major decision required independent review.
Robert approved from his hospital room.
“You reduced your own authority,” he said.
“Yes.”
“Then you finally understand the company.”
Robert returned home three months later.
He moved slowly.
His memory still failed on difficult days.
The first morning, he sat beside his old photograph in our bedroom.
He touched the frame.
“You spoke to this?”
“Every day.”
He looked at my shortened hair.
“May I brush it?”
I handed him the silver brush.
His hands shook.
He moved carefully through the uneven strands.
We both cried.
May you like
Not because the hair was gone.
Because the hand I thought I had lost had returned.
