Chapter 3 - The File They Were Moving
I did not go to Ingrid's house.
I drove straight to the fertility clinic where Lukas and I had spent six years being told that my body was failing us.
The receptionist recognized me.
"Mrs. Vance? We haven't seen you in almost a year."
"I need copies of my complete records. And my husband's, if I am legally authorized to receive the joint treatment file."
Her smile faded.
"Your chart was archived last month."
"Why?"
"There was a records request."
"From who?"
She checked the screen.
"Peter Voller."
The same attorney named in Sophia's agreement.
I called my lawyer, Nina Patel, from the parking lot.
She had handled contracts for my consulting firm and once told me never to sign anything while angry.
"Don't confront Lukas," she said after I sent the documents. "And do not go home alone."
"Why?"
"Because this is not an affair problem anymore. Someone forged your signature on a custody-related document."
She paused.
"And Exhibit C references a trust."
I looked at the clinic entrance.
"Ingrid mentioned my fertility file."
"Then get it before they do."
I went back inside and insisted on a written request.
Twenty minutes later, the records manager arrived with a sealed folder.
"There are pages in here you may not have seen," she said.
"Why not?"
She looked uncomfortable.
"Your husband requested separate counseling on the male-factor findings."
I stared at her.
"What male-factor findings?"
She opened the folder to a report dated seven years earlier.
Lukas Vance.
Severe non-obstructive azoospermia.
Probability of natural conception: extremely low.
My ears rang.
For six years, I had injected hormones into my stomach while Lukas held my hand and told me my body was the problem.
The records manager slid another page toward me.
It was a signed acknowledgment.
Lukas's signature.
He had known for seven years.
My phone lit up with a message from Sophia.
I opened it.
I TOOK A PRENATAL PATERNITY TEST LAST WEEK.
May you like
Then another message appeared.
LUKAS IS NOT THE FATHER.
