Chapter 11 - THE OTHER FILE
Maddie went white when Nora showed her the clinic form.
“There were no remaining embryos after that transfer.”
“You were told that?” Nora asked.
“Yes. The clinic called after Vance left. They said the last two hadn’t remained viable.”
Vance looked at Hannah, who had joined by video with her own attorney beside her.
“I worked in records,” Hannah said.
“I couldn’t speak to viability. I can tell you the storage file stayed active.”
Maddie gripped the edge of the table.
“For how long?”
“Almost a year.”
“Where are they?”
“We don’t know yet,” Nora said quickly.
“We need the full record. This request alone doesn’t establish what happened.”
Vance’s company had acquired a financial interest in the clinic network shortly before the divorce.
At the time, he had thought it was simply another deal.
Now he remembered Eleanor insisting the investment remain under family-office management.
Hannah continued.
“The request came from an authorized family representative. When I questioned the signature, my supervisor told me legal had cleared it.”
“Who was the representative?” Vance asked.
“Lila Crane.”
Maddie stood.
“I need air.”
He followed her into the hallway but kept his distance.
She pressed both palms against the wall.
“Every time I think I know what was taken, there’s something else.”
Vance stayed quiet.
“I wanted those children. All of them. Even the chance mattered.”
“I understand.”
She turned.
“No, you don’t.”
He accepted it.
“You’re right.”
Inside, Nora requested an urgent preservation of clinic records and independent confirmation of the storage status.
Hannah agreed to provide her retained correspondence through counsel.
Vance’s board meeting began without him.
By eleven, he was suspended from daily executive duties pending review.
His mother released a statement describing him as distracted by “a deeply personal situation.”
He read it while sitting outside the playroom.
Theo was fever-free.
June was teaching a stuffed rabbit how to eat pretend soup.
Maddie came out holding Nora’s phone.
“The clinic found the disposition record.”
Vance stood.
“What does it say?”
Her eyes were wet.
“The embryos were discarded.”
He reached for the back of a chair.
May you like
Maddie looked down at the screen.
“And the approval was entered the morning Theo and June were born.”
