Chapter 3 - M-17
I thought I had misunderstood him.
“What?”
Luka’s voice remained calm.
“Seven years ago, I was shot during a robbery outside one of my family’s warehouses.”
He touched the edge of a scar disappearing beneath his collar.
“The injuries required several surgeries.”
“One of my doctors recommended preserving genetic material before treatment.”
“I agreed.”
“The sample was stored through a private facility.”
I looked at the paper again.
M-17.
“Your sample?”
“Yes.”
I felt physically sick.
“But my doctor said Ryan’s sample was used.”
“That’s what your records say.”
Ryan finally found his voice.
“This is insane.”
Luka turned toward him.
“Then you won’t mind explaining your signature.”
“That form is fabricated.”
Vanessa immediately grabbed his arm.
“Ryan.”
It sounded like a warning.
Luka noticed.
So did I.
Ryan pulled away from her.
“You have no proof.”
“Actually, we do.”
A woman in a gray suit walked from the elevator.
She carried a leather briefcase.
Luka introduced her as Naomi Reyes, his attorney.
Naomi handed a hospital administrator a court order.
“Until the identity of the individual attempting to access the infant’s records is established, no blood sample, genetic screening result, discharge record, or digital chart connected to Claire Bennett or her daughter is to leave this floor.”
The administrator read it quickly.
“You already had this prepared?”
Naomi looked at Luka.
“We knew someone might make a move tonight.”
My skin turned cold.
“You knew I was giving birth?”
Luka faced me.
“Yes.”
“How?”
“Your father.”
I almost screamed.
“You keep saying that.”
“Because Robert spent nearly a year preparing for this possibility.”
Ryan suddenly laughed.
It sounded forced.
“Robert Carter disappeared eleven months ago.”
Luka looked directly at him.
“You seem unusually certain about the timeline.”
Ryan’s smile disappeared.
I turned.
“What does that mean?”
“Nothing.”
Luka stepped closer to Ryan.
“When was the last time you saw Robert?”
Ryan looked at me.
“Claire, don’t listen to him.”
“When?”
His eyes flickered.
That was enough.
I knew.
“You saw my father.”
Ryan shook his head.
“No.”
“When?”
“I said no.”
I stepped toward him.
“You told police you hadn’t spoken to him in months.”
Ryan’s face hardened.
“Your father hated me.”
“That wasn’t my question.”
Vanessa moved toward the elevator.
Naomi blocked her path.
“Where are you going?”
“Home.”
“Security needs to speak with everyone who entered this floor tonight.”
Vanessa laughed nervously.
“I didn’t access any records.”
Nobody had accused her yet.
Silence fell.
Her expression changed when she realized what she had just said.
Luka looked at security.
“Check the access log.”
One guard spoke into his radio.
Thirty seconds later, his answer came back.
A temporary physician access card had been used at 8:43 p.m.
The card belonged to Dr. Calvin Hale.
Vanessa’s father.
The owner of the fertility clinic where my daughter had been conceived.
And according to hospital records, Dr. Hale had not entered the building that night.
May you like
Which meant someone else had used his card.
Vanessa stopped smiling.
