Chapter 10 - THE WRONG EMBRYODana replayed Bianca’s sentence.
“Grant used the wrong embryo.”
Not “Vale.”
Not “Celeste.”
Grant.
He insisted he had never touched the cryogenic carrier.
“I authorized B-19. Vale handled the transfer.”
Dr. Vale was brought back into the room.
He admitted receiving a container labeled B-19 from Marla Finch, the missing nurse. The internal vial carried a different microcode.
He did not verify it.
“You implanted an embryo without confirming identity?” Nora asked.
“Grant demanded absolute secrecy.”
“That is not a medical excuse.”
“No.”
For the first time, Dr. Vale stopped defending himself.
He had suspected the embryo was mislabeled. He proceeded because Grant threatened to expose his father’s hidden adoption network and destroy the hospital.
His fear for the institution outweighed Evelyn’s consent.
The recurring pattern was clear.
Every adult claimed a larger danger justified using her body.
Dana ordered a search for Marla Finch.
Traffic cameras showed her entering a black sedan after leaving the hospital. The driver’s face was hidden, but the vehicle was registered to the DeLuca Foundation.
Vittorio had never authorized its use.
The foundation’s fleet manager reported that the sedan had been assigned to Isabella DeLuca’s memorial office—a ceremonial department kept open after her death.
The office’s administrator was Lydia Cross, Isabella’s former personal assistant.
Lydia had worked for the DeLuca family for thirty-two years.
Vittorio trusted her more than anyone.
She had also helped organize Evelyn’s wedding.
Dana contacted her.
No answer.
Security entered Lydia’s apartment and found it empty. On the dining table lay photographs of Grant meeting Dr. Vale, Celeste undergoing egg retrieval, and Marla moving the cryogenic container.
Lydia had investigated the conspiracy.
Or supervised it.
A handwritten chart listed three embryo codes:
B-19—Bianca/Matthew
I-7—Isabella/Vittorio
E-4—RESTRICTED
Grant ordered B-19.
Marla transported E-4.
Which embryo entered Evelyn remained unknown.
The baby’s DNA did not fully match the B-19 expectations. Matthew Mercer appeared to be the father based on first analysis, but the laboratory now warned that the sample might contain a close male-relative match rather than direct paternity.
Grant and Matthew shared nearly half their DNA.
A degraded reference sample from Matthew’s preserved tissue made certainty difficult.
The child could be Grant’s after all.
Celeste heard this and seized on it.
“Then I am the mother.”
Her DNA had already excluded her.
She demanded a third test.
Dana agreed, but only because the case required certainty.
The results again excluded Celeste.
The child’s maternal line matched neither Celeste nor the complete profile attributed to Bianca.
It matched Evelyn more closely than expected.
The laboratory director entered personally.
“We need to consider maternal microchimerism, embryo mosaicism, or an incorrect historical profile. But the simplest explanation is that the baby’s genetic mother is Evelyn.”
Evelyn stared at him.
She had been told the initial pattern was not mother-child.
He explained that the first sample came from cord blood and may have been contaminated by placental tissue from another embryo.
“Another embryo?” Nora asked.
The pregnancy may have begun as twins.
One embryo stopped developing early. Its cells remained in the placenta and distorted the first result.
The living newborn might be genetically Evelyn’s child.
The vanished twin might have come from another embryo entirely.
Two embryos had been implanted without Evelyn’s knowledge.
One may have been hers.
One may have been B-19, I-7, or E-4.
Dr. Vale looked horrified.
“I transferred only one.”
“Then someone altered the procedure before you entered,” Nora said.
Evelyn remembered the transfer day.
A second physician had stood behind the curtain.
A woman whose face she never saw.
The medical chart named no assistant.
Dana checked the underground footage.
Lydia Cross entered the procedure suite carrying a narrow silver case.
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Evelyn’s trusted family assistant had been present during the implantation.
👉 Evelyn might truly be the baby’s mother—but a second secret embryo had also been placed inside her and vanished before birth.
