Chapter 3: My Sister's Name Was on the Documents
I didn't sleep that night.
Every time I closed my eyes, I saw the photographs Vanessa had placed beside my bed.
Wes kissing another woman.
Wes holding keys to another house.
Wes smiling while I lay in a hospital bed believing we were finally going to become a family.
And now my sister's name had entered the story.
Megan.
My only sibling.
The girl who used to crawl into my bed during thunderstorms.
The woman who had stood beside me at my wedding.
The person who had held my hand after my second miscarriage.
I had spent years defending her.
Even when she borrowed money and forgot to repay it.
Even when she made careless comments about my fertility treatments.
Even when she told our mother that I was becoming too obsessed with having children.
I had always believed she loved me.
At 7:15 the next morning, she appeared in my hospital room.
She was carrying a bouquet of white roses.
Her hair was tied into a loose ponytail, and she wore the same oversized gray sweater she'd had on during our mother's birthday dinner.
She looked nervous.
Not sad.
Nervous.
"Hi, Holly.""
I looked at the flowers.
"Put them down.""
She stopped.
"Okay.""
She placed them on the counter.
"How are the girls?""
"Fine.""
"Can I see them?""
"No.""
Her face tightened.
"Holly, they're my nieces.""
"And I'm their mother.""
She swallowed.
"You're right.""
I watched her pull a chair toward the bed.
She didn't sit immediately.
Instead, she looked at the monitor, then at the hospital door.
Finally, she sat.
"Mom told me you were upset.""
I laughed without humor.
"That's one way to describe it.""
Megan folded her hands.
"I know about Vanessa.""
My stomach tightened.
"How?""
"Wes told me.""
"When?""
"Last month.""
I stared at her.
"Last month?""
She nodded.
"Yes.""
I tried to sit up.
Pain shot through my abdomen.
I winced.
Megan reached toward me.
"Careful.""
"Don't touch me.""
She withdrew her hand.
"Please let me explain.""
"Did you know my husband was having an affair?""
"Yes.""
The answer came so quickly that I almost didn't understand it.
I stared at her.
"You knew?""
She looked down.
"Holly—"
"How long?""
"About a year.""
I felt something inside me break.
A year.
My sister had known for a year.
She had sat across from me at Thanksgiving.
She had helped me choose baby names.
She had watched me rub lotion onto my swollen stomach.
And all that time, she knew my husband was sleeping with someone else.
"Why didn't you tell me?""
Megan's eyes filled with tears.
"Because Wes said he was going to end it.""
"End what?""
"The relationship.""
"With Vanessa?""
She nodded.
"When?""
"After the babies were born.""
I stared at her.
"So you knew he was planning to leave me?""
"No. I thought he was planning to work things out with you.""
I laughed again.
It hurt my incision.
I pressed my palm against it.
"You thought he was going to work things out with me after having an affair for a year?""
Megan wiped her eyes.
"He told me he loved you.""
"Then why was he with her?""
"He said things were complicated.""
I leaned back.
There it was again.
The word everyone seemed to use when they didn't want to admit what they'd done.
"Did he tell you about the fertility treatment?""
Megan stopped moving.
I noticed immediately.
"What?""
She shook her head.
"Nothing.""
"Megan.""
"Please don't do this right now.""
"Did you know?""
She looked toward the door.
Then she whispered, "I knew about the donor arrangement.""
My fingers went cold.
"What donor arrangement?""
She pressed her lips together.
"Vanessa was going to donate eggs.""
I stared at her.
"And you knew?""
"Yes.""
I couldn't speak.
Megan began crying.
"Wes told me you had agreed.""
"I didn't.""
"I know that now.""
"How long have you known?""
She didn't answer.
I repeated the question.
"How long?""
"Since yesterday.""
I stared at her.
"Yesterday?""
She nodded.
"Wes called me after the doctor contacted him.""
My heart started pounding.
"What did the doctor tell him?""
"That you were asking questions about the fertility records.""
"And?""
Megan looked down.
"He said he couldn't keep hiding it.""
I swallowed.
"Why were you involved?""
She reached into her handbag.
"I brought something.""
She removed a thick envelope.
I recognized the logo.
It belonged to the fertility clinic.
She placed it on my blanket.
"These are copies of documents Wes gave me.""
I didn't touch them.
"Why would he give you medical documents?""
"Because he wanted me to help him.""
"Help him do what?""
Megan's eyes filled again.
"Get you to sign something.""
I stared at her.
"What?""
"A consent form.""
"For what?""
"To release the embryos.""
I frowned.
"Which embryos?""
She took a shaky breath.
"The embryos created using Vanessa's eggs.""
My mouth went dry.
"How many?""
"Three.""
I looked at the envelope.
Then back at her.
"You're telling me there are three embryos created using another woman's eggs?""
Megan nodded.
"Yes.""
"And Wes wanted me to sign them away?""
"Yes.""
"Why?""
She hesitated.
"Because Vanessa wanted to use them.""
I felt physically sick.
"Use them for what?""
Megan's voice dropped.
"She wanted to have Wes's children.""
I stared at her.
The room seemed to grow smaller.
"She was planning to have more children with my husband?""
"Yes.""
"And he was planning to let her?""
Megan covered her face.
"He said he wanted a family with her, too.""
I couldn't breathe.
The two girls sleeping in the bassinets beside me were suddenly the center of something I couldn't comprehend.
"Why did he need my signature?""
Megan hesitated.
"Because the embryos were created during the treatment cycle registered under your account.""
I looked at the documents.
"How?""
"Wes told the clinic that you had agreed to use donor eggs. He said you were too emotionally overwhelmed to handle the paperwork, so he was going to manage it.""
I shook my head.
"I never signed anything.""
"I know.""
"Did he forge my signature?""
Megan didn't answer.
I looked at the first page.
There it was.
My name.
My address.
My date of birth.
And a signature that looked almost exactly like mine.
But it wasn't mine.
I knew because the letter H in my signature always had a small upward hook.
This one didn't.
Someone had copied it.
My own husband had forged my signature on a medical document.
I stared at Megan.
"Did you help him?""
She started crying harder.
"I didn't sign anything.""
"Did you help him?""
"I gave him your old paperwork. He said he needed it to complete the clinic's records.""
I couldn't believe her.
"You gave him my signature?""
"He said you had already agreed!""
"How could you believe that?""
"Because he told me you knew!""
I grabbed the envelope.
My hands were shaking so badly that the papers slid onto the bed.
"Get out.""
"Holly, please.""
"Get out.""
"I made a mistake.""
"A mistake is forgetting someone's birthday. A mistake is saying something stupid at dinner. You helped my husband use another woman's eggs without telling me.""
"I didn't know the whole plan.""
"You knew enough!""
Megan stood.
Her chair scraped loudly against the floor.
"I'm your sister.""
I looked at her.
"That's exactly why this hurts.""
She covered her mouth.
I pointed toward the door.
"Leave.""
She walked toward it, then stopped.
"There is something else.""
I closed my eyes.
"I don't want to hear it.""
"You need to.""
"No.""
"Holly, the reason Wes left yesterday—"
"I said get out!""
She flinched.
Then she turned around.
"He didn't leave because of Vanessa.""
I looked at her.
"What?""
Megan swallowed.
"He left because of the paternity test.""
I felt my blood turn cold.
"What paternity test?""
She stared at me.
"The test they arranged before the delivery.""
I shook my head.
"No one arranged a paternity test.""
"Wes did.""
"When?""
"Three weeks ago.""
I looked toward the bassinets.
"Why?""
Megan's voice became barely audible.
"Because he was told one of the babies might not be his.""
For a moment, I couldn't understand the sentence.
Then I looked at her.
"Who told him that?""
"Vanessa.""
"Why would she know anything about my pregnancy?""
Megan hesitated.
"Because she had access to some of the clinic's records.""
"That's impossible.""
"She knew about the embryo transfer. She knew the dates. She knew which embryos were transferred.""
I felt dizzy.
"And Wes believed her?""
"He wanted to know the truth.""
I shook my head.
"Why would he think one of the girls wasn't his?""
Megan looked toward the hallway.
Then she said something I would never forget.
"Because the clinic told him that the genetic information didn't match the records he had been given.""
I gripped the blanket.
"That doesn't make sense.""
"He was told there had been an error.""
"What kind of error?""
Megan wiped her face.
"I don't know.""
"You're lying.""
"I'm not.""
I looked down at the papers again.
There was another page beneath the consent form.
A laboratory report.
At the top, I saw two identification numbers.
One belonged to the pregnancy.
The other belonged to a sample.
I couldn't understand the medical terminology.
But one line was clear.
*PATERNAL GENETIC MATCH: INCONCLUSIVE.*
I stared at it.
"Is this the test?""
Megan nodded.
"Yes.""
I felt my throat tighten.
"Why didn't anyone tell me?""
"Wes didn't want you to know until the results were confirmed.""
"Confirmed?""
She looked at me.
"He said if one of the girls wasn't his, he wanted to know before he signed the birth certificates.""
I stared at her in disbelief.
"He left before the girls were even a day old because of a test?""
Megan nodded.
I felt tears burning my eyes.
"What did the results say?""
"I don't know.""
"Then why are you here?""
She reached into her handbag again.
This time, she removed a small flash drive.
"Wes gave me this yesterday.""
I looked at it.
"What is it?""
"Copies of the messages between him and Vanessa.""
"Why?""
"He wanted me to delete them.""
I stared at her.
"And you didn't?""
She shook her head.
"No.""
"Why not?""
For the first time since entering the room, Megan looked directly at me.
"Because I saw one message that made me realize he wasn't just hiding an affair.""
She placed the flash drive beside my phone.
"What message?""
She swallowed.
"It was sent two days before your C-section.""
I waited.
Megan's voice trembled.
"Wes asked Vanessa whether she was sure about the babies.""
My chest tightened.
"What did she say?""
Megan looked down.
"She told him that if the hospital discovered the truth, he needed to leave immediately.""
I stared at the flash drive.
"What truth?""
Megan shook her head.
"I don't know.""
"Read me the message.""
She hesitated.
Then she unlocked her phone.
Her fingers trembled as she scrolled.
Finally, she turned the screen toward me.
There was a message from Wes.
*Wes, 9:42 PM:*
If Holly finds out what happened during the transfer, everything is over.
Below it was Vanessa's response.
*Vanessa, 9:47 PM:*
Then make sure she never sees the original records.
I stared at the screen.
"What happened during the transfer?""
Megan shook her head.
"I don't know.""
I looked at the documents again.
Then I noticed something.
The laboratory report had a date.
Three weeks before my C-section.
And beneath the printed results was a handwritten note.
It wasn't signed by Wes.
It wasn't signed by Vanessa.
It was signed by a doctor.
Dr. Patel.
My stomach dropped.
I looked at the door.
"Why is Dr. Patel's name on this?""
Megan leaned closer.
"I don't know.""
I picked up the paper.
There was a second sentence beneath the signature.
*Repeat testing recommended. Do not disclose preliminary findings to either party until specimen identity is verified.*
I read it twice.
Then a third time.
"Either party?""
Megan nodded slowly.
I looked at her.
"Was Dr. Patel involved in the fertility treatment?""
"No. She was the obstetrician.""
"Then why was she reviewing this?""
Megan didn't answer.
At that exact moment, the door opened.
Dr. Patel entered with another doctor beside her.
Her expression was unusually serious.
She looked at the documents in my hands.
Then at Megan.
"Ms. Bennett," she said quietly, "I was hoping we could speak before you saw those results.""
I felt my heart pounding.
"Why?""
Dr. Patel closed the door.
She looked at Megan.
"Would you mind giving us a moment?""
Megan shook her head.
"I'm not leaving until Holly knows the truth.""
Dr. Patel's jaw tightened.
Then she pulled a chair toward my bed.
"Holly, I need you to listen very carefully.""
I looked at her.
"Is one of my daughters not Wes's?""
She paused.
"No.""
I felt my entire body go cold.
"Then who is the father?""
Dr. Patel looked at the paper in my hand.
Then she said something that made Megan collapse into the chair.
"That's exactly what we need to establish, Holly. Because the original laboratory report was not the report Wes received.""
I stared at her.
"What?""
She opened the folder she was carrying.
"There were two genetic samples submitted for testing. One was labeled as your husband's. The other was labeled as a donor sample.""
My hands began shaking.
"And?""
Dr. Patel looked directly at me.
"Someone switched the identification labels.""
I couldn't breathe.
"Who?""
She didn't answer.
Instead, she removed another document.
It contained a photograph of the original sample registration form.
And at the bottom, beneath the authorization section, was a name I recognized.
My sister's.
Megan Bennett.
I slowly turned toward her.
She was crying.
But she wasn't looking at me.
She was staring at the photograph as though she'd just seen something she had spent years trying to forget.
"Megan," I whispered.
"What did you do?""
She covered her mouth.
And then Dr. Patel said the words that made the room go silent.
"Your sister wasn't just helping your husband, Holly. She was the person who brought the original samples to the clinic.""
Megan finally looked up.
"I didn't know whose sample it was," she whispered.
I stared at her.
"Whose sample?""
She opened her mouth.
But before she could answer, Dr. Patel turned the document over.
There was a second name written on the back.
May you like
A name that none of us expected to see.
*My father.*
