Chapter 13: The Dead Man's DNA
The name on the laboratory report seemed to pulse beneath the fluorescent lights.
*THOMAS CROSS.*
Julian's uncle had been dead for twenty years.
He had never appeared in my medical records. I had never met him. Yet his genetic profile had somehow become connected to a fertility procedure I barely understood, a pregnancy that had already been used against me, and a family conspiracy that stretched back three decades.
I read the report again.
“This has to be a mistake,” I whispered.
Julian stood beside the desk, his jaw clenched.
“Marcus, did the laboratory verify the source of the reference sample?””
“Not yet, sir. They confirmed the genetic relationship to the stored profile associated with Thomas Cross. They haven't established who supplied the sample or when it was collected.””
“So we're dealing with a name attached to a sample,” Julian said.
“Not proof that Thomas was involved.””
“Correct.””
I looked up.
“Could someone have substituted another person's DNA?””
“Yes,” Marcus replied.
“Or the original profile could have been mislabeled decades ago. We need the chain of custody.””
Julian closed the report.
“Get the laboratory director on the phone. I want the original accession records, every transfer log, and the identity of whoever authorized the comparison.””
Marcus nodded and stepped into the corridor.
I sank into a chair.
For weeks, I had believed Ethan's betrayal was the center of my nightmare. Then I discovered he might be my half brother. Then Daniel arrived with claims that Julian's own birth had been concealed.
Now even the medical records that had started this entire disaster appeared to have been manipulated.
I rested my hands on my stomach.
“I'm frightened,” I admitted.
Julian crouched beside me.
“I know.””
“What if someone has been planning this for years? What if the pregnancy record was never about making us look related? What if someone wanted me to believe the wrong person was responsible?””
Julian took my hand.
“Then we find out who benefited from the lie.””
“And if the truth hurts someone we care about?””
His eyes darkened.
“Then we deal with the truth anyway.””
A sharp knock interrupted us.
Marcus returned with a tablet.
“The laboratory director is available. But before we speak to her, there's something else.””
He placed a scanned document in front of Julian.
It was an authorization form from Meridian Reproductive Center, dated three years earlier.
The patient listed was me.
The procedure described was a fertility consultation.
At the bottom appeared a signature I recognized immediately.
My own.
Except I had never signed that form.
“I didn't authorize this,” I said.
Marcus zoomed in on the signature.
“The document's electronic metadata indicates it was uploaded from a terminal registered to Northstar Advisory.””
Julian's expression hardened.
“Why would a financial advisory company have access to a fertility clinic's records?””
“That's what we're investigating.””
I scanned the form.
A reference number appeared beside the donor profile.
The same number was printed on the laboratory report.
Below it, a handwritten notation read:
Cross family reference material. Restricted access. Authorization: R.H.
I looked at Julian.
“R.H.””
“Robert Hale,” he said.
The name seemed to infect every document we touched.
I remembered Eleanor's letter. Robert had arranged Ethan's adoption, concealed Daniel's identity, and helped establish the settlement that connected the Cross and Whitmore families.
But he had died years ago.
How could his authorization appear on a record created three years earlier?
Unless someone had copied his signature.
Or unless the notation referred to an old authorization that had been reused.
“Marcus,” Julian said, “find out whether Robert Hale had any legal authority over Meridian after his death.””
“I'll check.””
“And find every person who accessed this file.””
Marcus left again.
I stared at the form.
“Julian, I never underwent an embryo transfer.””
“I believe you.””
“I never selected a donor. I never authorized any procedure beyond an initial consultation.””
“Then someone has created a false record.””
“But why?””
Julian didn't answer immediately.
He walked to the window, then turned back.
“Someone may have needed a false medical record to establish a connection between you and the Cross family. If the record suggested I was the donor, it could create a scandal. If it pointed to Thomas, it could create a different legal dispute.””
“And if the record is connected to my pregnancy?””
“Then whoever altered it may have wanted to make your unborn child's identity part of the inheritance fight.””
I felt cold.
My baby had become a piece of evidence in a battle I had never chosen.
I wouldn't let that continue.
“I'm going to see Ethan.””
Julian straightened.
“Grace—”
“He has information. He knew about the adoption. He knew Daniel was involved. And he may know why my medical records were altered.””
“I'll come with you.””
“No.””
He frowned.
“I don't want you alone with him.””
“I won't be alone. Marcus can remain outside. But I need to speak to my husband without everyone answering for him.””
Julian studied my face.
Finally, he nodded.
“Then I'll arrange it.””
An hour later, I sat in a private interview room at the island's administrative building.
Ethan entered accompanied by an officer. His suit was gone, replaced by a plain dark shirt. Without his polished appearance, he looked older and more exhausted.
He stopped when he saw me.
“Grace.””
“Sit down.””
He obeyed.
For a moment, neither of us spoke.
Then I placed the laboratory report on the table.
“Tell me about Thomas Cross.””
Ethan's eyes dropped to the page.
“Where did you get this?””
“Answer the question.””
He rubbed his hands together.
“Thomas was Andrew's younger brother. He died before Julian took control of the company.””
“I know that. Why is his DNA connected to my fertility records?””
Ethan looked genuinely confused.
“What?””
I pushed the report toward him.
He read it carefully. His expression changed when he saw the authorization reference.
“Where did you get this?””
“From an independent laboratory.””
He looked at me.
“Grace, I never saw this before.””
“Did Daniel?””
“I don't know.””
“Did you know someone had accessed my medical records?””
He hesitated.
I leaned forward.
“Ethan, if you know anything about this, now is the time to tell me.””
He stared at the report.
“Three months ago, Daniel showed me a file from Meridian. He said it proved the Cross family had been using private medical records to conceal the original adoptions.””
“Did the file contain my name?””
“Yes.””
My throat tightened.
“What did it say?””
“That you had been listed as a patient in a donor-reference investigation.””
“Did it identify Thomas Cross?””
“I don't remember.””
“You don't remember?””
“There were dozens of pages. Daniel said the records would help him challenge the settlement.””
I shook my head.
“You've spent months telling me you were trying to uncover the truth. But every time I ask a question, you suddenly remember nothing.””
His eyes filled.
“I was afraid.””
“Of what?””
“Of losing everything.””
“You already lost me.””
He flinched.
I hated that part of me still wanted to comfort him.
But I couldn't let compassion become another excuse for his lies.
“Did you know Daniel intended to take the trust?””
“Yes.””
“Did you help him?””
“I helped him investigate the settlement. I didn't know he intended to use a fraudulent order.””
“Did you know he had altered medical records?””
“No.””
I studied his face.
For the first time since our confrontation, I believed he might be telling the truth about that particular detail.
It didn't absolve him of anything else.
“Why did you marry me?””
Ethan lowered his head.
“Because I loved you.””
“Did you know who I was?””
“Not when we met.””
“When did you find out?””
“Daniel told me four years ago.””
The answer landed like a stone.
“Four years,” I repeated.
“And you stayed with me.””
“I didn't know what to do.””
“You could have told me.””
“I thought the documents might be wrong.””
“And when you learned they might be right?””
He stared at his hands.
“I thought I could fix everything before you found out.””
“By taking my money?””
“By securing the inheritance I believed belonged to our family.””
I stood.
“You don't get to call it our family when you used my trust as a weapon.””
Ethan looked up.
“Grace, please. I know what I did was wrong.””
“Do you?””
“Yes.””
“Then tell me who authorized the medical record.””
He looked at the form again.
His face went pale.
“R.H.,” he whispered.
“Robert Hale?””
“No.””
He shook his head.
“Those initials don't stand for Robert Hale.””
“Then who?””
Ethan looked toward the closed door.
“Richard Harlan.””
I froze.
“Who is Richard Harlan?””
“The former legal director of Northstar Advisory. He worked for Daniel's company until last year.””
“Where is he now?””
Ethan swallowed.
“He disappeared six months ago.””
“Why?””
“Because he told Daniel he had copies of the original adoption records.””
My pulse quickened.
“Where are those copies?””
“I don't know.””
Ethan leaned forward.
“But Grace, there's something you need to understand. Richard wasn't the person who ordered the medical record to be created.””
“Who was?””
He looked directly at me.
“The authorization came from someone inside Julian's company.””
Before I could ask another question, the interview-room door opened.
Marcus stood in the doorway, holding his phone.
“Grace, we found Richard Harlan.””
I rose.
“Where?””
Marcus glanced at Ethan.
“He's been admitted to a hospital on the mainland under an assumed name.””
“Is he alive?””
“Yes.””
“Can he talk?””
Marcus hesitated.
“He requested to speak with you specifically.””
“Why me?””
Marcus handed me a note.
The handwriting was shaky.
Tell Grace Whitmore that the child she is carrying has nothing to do with Thomas Cross.
Beneath the sentence was a second line.
And tell her that the person who ordered the test is the person who knows what happened to the third baby.
I looked up.
“Who ordered the test?””
Marcus's expression was grim.
“According to the preliminary access logs, the authorization originated from the executive office of Cross Enterprises.””
May you like
Julian's office.
And the only person with unrestricted access to that office was Julian himself.
