Chapter 7 - Garrett’s second lie
Garrett finally agreed to speak.
His attorney sat beside him.
Detective Benton placed the old recording on the table.
“You knew Claire’s daughter was alive.”
Garrett stared at his hands.
“Yes.”
“Where did she go?”
“I was told Tennessee.”
“To the Ashfords?”
“I didn’t know their name at first.”
“When did you learn it?”
“Later.”
“How much later?”
“About six months.”
“Did you tell Claire?”
“No.”
“Why?”
“She was unstable.”
Claire, watching from another room, laughed through tears.
The old line.
Benton continued.
“Did you believe your child was in danger with Claire?”
“At the time.”
“Then why not seek lawful custody?”
Garrett looked away.
“Because my mother said adoption would be cleaner.”
“Cleaner for whom?”
No answer.
“Did you receive forty-two thousand dollars?”
“My mother repaid money she owed me.”
“Documents show no loan.”
Garrett’s jaw tightened.
“Then she gave me money.”
“After your child disappeared.”
“Yes.”
“Did you understand the connection?”
“I suspected.”
Claire closed her eyes.
Not innocence.
Not ignorance.
Choice.
Then Benton asked about the missing newborn screening.
Garrett’s face changed.
“What screening?”
“The one you told Dr. Holt not to retain.”
“I don’t remember.”
“Your former wife’s baby.”
“I said I don’t remember.”
“Do you remember attempting to access Delphine’s baby’s chart today?”
Garrett looked up.
“I didn’t.”
“Someone used Holt’s credentials.”
“Not me.”
“Did your mother?”
“I don’t know.”
“Who else knew the credentials?”
Garrett stopped.
Benton noticed.
“Who?”
“Nadine kept copies of foundation logins.”
“Where?”
“At home.”
Investigators searched Nadine’s residence.
They found an old binder.
Usernames.
Passwords.
Hospital contacts.
Private placement records.
And a list titled FAMILY SCREENINGS.
Claire’s daughter appeared.
So did Quincy.
So did Garrett.
There were blood-type notations and medical summaries.
Then one handwritten line beside Claire’s baby:
RECHECK PATERNAL FILE BEFORE PLACEMENT.
Claire stared.
“What does that mean?”
No one knew.
A second page had been removed.
Only torn fibers remained.
Investigators searched the house.
The missing page was not found.
But Garrett’s old home office contained a locked desk drawer.
Inside:
A photocopy of a laboratory report.
BABY GIRL CLAIRE.
Paternity probability:
Garrett was the biological father.
Claire exhaled shakily.
So that mystery was removed.
Why hide it?
Benton kept reading.
Another comparison appeared.
PATERNAL KINSHIP FLAG — REVIEW RECOMMENDED.
Compared against whom?
The name was blacked out.
Not Claire.
Not Quincy.
Someone else.
Garrett had hidden evidence not because he doubted he was the father.
Because his daughter’s genetics linked her to another person in the hospital’s historical records.
Who?
A code remained:
CF-17.
Nadine’s foundation ledger had used:
DONOR FAMILY 17.
Delphine felt cold.
Same number.
Coincidence?
Perhaps.
But investigators did not assume.
They searched New Promise files.
Family 17 corresponded to Paul and Rebecca Ashford.
Why would Garrett’s newborn have a kinship flag connected to the family who later adopted her?
Unless someone inside that family was already biologically related.
Claire stared.
“That doesn’t make sense.”
No.
Not yet.
The Ashfords’ attorney contacted Benton before police reached them.
Paul and Rebecca wanted to cooperate.
They had something they believed investigators needed.
A letter.
Given to them by Nadine during the adoption.
It said:
You are not receiving a stranger’s child. This placement repairs an old family separation.
Rebecca Ashford had never understood the sentence.
She assumed it was emotional language.
Now she was frightened.
“What old family separation?” Benton asked.
Rebecca answered:
“I don’t know.”
“Did you know Garrett?”
“No.”
“Nadine?”
“Only through New Promise.”
“Any biological connection to the Cole family?”
Rebecca shook her head.
Paul did too.
Then Rebecca added:
“My mother knew Nadine.”
Everyone stopped.
“Name?”
“Evelyn Cross.”
Claire stared.
Cross.
Jenna Cross.
Her sister.
Her maiden name.
Rebecca Ashford’s mother shared Claire’s family surname.
May you like
And suddenly “Family 17” looked less random.
👉 The couple who received Claire’s daughter had an unexplained connection to Claire’s own family, suggesting Nadine chose them for reasons beyond money.
