Chapter 10
For a second, no one spoke.
Then I laughed.
It was not funny.
It was impossible.
“What does that mean?” I asked.
Mom covered her mouth.
Nora’s expression sharpened.
“Emily, did Ryan ever accuse you of cheating?”
“All the time.”
“Did Diane?”
“Constantly.”
Nora looked at Mom.
“Why would Diane say Ryan wasn’t Caleb’s father?”
Mom whispered, “Because Ryan can’t have children.”
The room tilted.
I looked at Caleb.
My baby.
My son.
Then back at Mom.
“No.”
Dad said my name softly.
I shook my head.
“No. Ryan is his father. I never—”
“I know,” Mom said quickly. “You didn’t cheat.”
Nora’s eyes narrowed.
“Fertility treatment?”
I froze.
Ryan and I had struggled for a year.
He told me it was stress.
Then he brought home vitamins from Diane’s doctor.
Dr. Vale.
My stomach turned.
“They gave me supplements,” I whispered.
Nora went still.
“What kind?”
“I don’t know. Ryan said they were prenatal boosters.”
Mom started crying again.
“Steven helped Diane arrange it.”
“Arrange what?”
Nora answered carefully.
“A conception without your informed consent.”
I looked at Caleb.
My son’s tiny fist opened and closed against the blanket.
I thought I had known the bottom of this nightmare.
I had not.
A DNA test was ordered.
Mine.
Caleb’s.
Ryan’s.
Vale’s.
Diane fought through her lawyer to block it.
The judge refused.
Ryan called me that night from jail.
This time, I answered with Nora listening.
His voice was broken.
“Emily, don’t do the test.”
My heart stopped.
“Why?”
May you like
He sobbed.
“Because Mom said if I couldn’t give her a grandson, she would find someone who could.”
