Nicole Harris's sister lived in Aurora.
Cole called Claire that afternoon and asked whether she knew the woman.
Claire did not.
Her name was Rebecca Harris, forty-two, an elementary-school counselor, widowed, no criminal record, no known connection to Ryan beyond Nicole's employment with Patricia.
Cole told Claire one other thing.
Rebecca had kept Nicole's papers.
"What papers?" Claire asked.
"Personal files. Journals. Some correspondence."
"Did she know about Westbridge?"
"Not until we asked."
Claire felt the familiar mix of urgency and dread.
"Can I speak to her?"
"Not yet."
"Why?"
"Because we're interviewing her first."
Claire bit back frustration.
Cole continued.
"If she consents later, that's different."
That evening, Megan called while Claire was cooking.
Lily could be heard banging something rhythmically in the background.
Claire turned off the stove.
"Is everything okay?"
"Yes."
Megan hesitated.
"I wanted to tell you before Ryan does."
Claire leaned against the counter.
"Tell me what?"
"He filed for temporary sole decision-making authority over Lily."
Claire shut her eyes.
"On what basis?"
"That I've been cooperating with you against his wishes."
"That's not a legal basis."
"I know."
"What does your lawyer say?"
"That he's trying to establish control before your parentage case gets further."
Claire looked toward the darkened window.
"Did he ask to restrict my visits?"
"Yes."
Her chest tightened.
"And?"
"The court hasn't ruled."
Claire let out a slow breath.
"When is the next visit scheduled?"
"Friday."
"Still happening?"
"My lawyer says yes unless there's an order stopping it."
Claire nodded.
"Okay."
Megan became quiet.
Then she said, "Claire?"
"Yes?"
"I'm sorry."
Claire did not answer immediately.
"For which part?"
Megan inhaled shakily.
"All of it."
Claire looked down at the cooling pan on the stove.
A year ago, she would have desperately wanted those words.
Now they felt insufficient and necessary at the same time.
"I believe you're sorry."
Megan started crying.
Claire continued.
"That doesn't mean I know what to do with it yet."
"I understand."
"I'm glad."
The next morning Angela called before eight.
"Rebecca Harris agreed to speak with us after Detective Cole finishes."
Claire sat up in bed.
"When?"
"Eleven."
Rebecca chose Angela's office rather than the police station.
When Claire arrived, a woman with Nicole's eyes was sitting near the conference-room window holding a cardboard storage box.
Rebecca stood.
"Claire?"
"Yes."
They shook hands.
Rebecca's grip was warm and firm.
"I'm sorry we're meeting because of this."
"So am I."
They sat.
Cole remained at the far end of the table, present with Rebecca's permission.
Rebecca placed both hands on the box.
"My sister didn't tell me everything about Patricia."
Claire watched her carefully.
"What did she tell you?"
"That working for her was exhausting."
A faint, sad smile appeared.
"That part wasn't a secret."
Claire almost smiled.
Rebecca opened the box.
"Nicole was organized. Obsessively organized. She kept copies of important emails, contracts, receipts, even handwritten notes."
Angela asked, "Why?"
"Because Patricia blamed people when things went wrong."
Claire believed that immediately.
Rebecca removed a folder.
"About sixteen months before Nicole quit, she told me Patricia had offered her money."
Claire's pulse quickened.
"For what?"
Rebecca looked directly at her.
"To carry a baby."
The room became silent.
Claire felt suddenly aware of the air-conditioning hum.
"What did Nicole say?"
"At first she thought Patricia was joking."
Rebecca folded her hands.
"Nicole had mentioned that she loved being pregnant. She has—had—two children. Easy pregnancies. Patricia apparently remembered."
"Did she know whose baby?"
"Eventually."
Claire's stomach tightened.
"Mine."
Rebecca nodded.
"Yours and Ryan's."
Claire looked down.
There it was.
The first plan.
Not theoretical.
Not abstract research.
Nicole.
"Did Nicole agree?"
"No."
"Immediately?"
"Not immediately."
That surprised Claire.
Rebecca opened the folder.
"She considered it."
"Why?"
"Money."
There was no judgment in Rebecca's voice.
"Patricia offered enough to pay off Nicole's mortgage."
Claire swallowed.
"How much?"
"One hundred and twenty thousand dollars."
Angela looked sharply toward Cole.
Rebecca continued.
"Nicole was divorced. Her ex-husband was behind on support. She was scared about money."
Claire imagined Nicole sitting across from Patricia, calculating tuition, mortgage payments, childcare.
"Did Patricia say I agreed?"
"Nicole said Patricia told her you and Ryan were discussing options."
Claire felt anger rise.
Of course.
Always enough truth to make the lie plausible.
"What happened?"
"Nicole asked to speak to you."
Claire looked up.
Rebecca nodded.
"That's when Patricia changed."
"How?"
"She told Nicole that contacting you directly would upset you. She said you were emotionally fragile."
Claire closed her eyes.
The phrase again.
Emotionally unstable.
Emotionally fragile.
Her grief had become Patricia's universal permission slip.
Rebecca took out a letter.
"This is what matters."
Claire stared at the envelope.
Her name was written on the front.
CLAIRE BENNETT.
"Nicole wrote this?"
"Yes."
"When?"
"The week she quit."
Claire's fingers went cold.
Rebecca pushed the envelope toward her.
"She never sent it."
"Why?"
"I don't know."
Claire looked at Cole.
He nodded slightly.
Rebecca said, "You can read it."
Claire opened the envelope.
The letter was handwritten.
Claire,
You don't know me well enough for this to make sense, but I think you need to know what Patricia has been asking me to do.
Claire stopped.
Her vision blurred.
Angela waited.
Claire forced herself to continue.
Nicole described Patricia's offer.
The consultations.
The questions about embryo transfer.
Patricia insisting that Claire's consent was "a formality" that Ryan would handle.
Then came the sentence that made Claire grip the page harder.
Patricia says Ryan knows about the plan now and thinks it may be easier if you believe the carrier is someone you don't know.
Claire whispered, "Ryan knew."
Cole said nothing.
Claire kept reading.
Nicole had eventually refused.
Not because of the money.
Not because of pregnancy.
Because Patricia would not allow her to speak directly to Claire.
Nicole wrote that she became convinced Claire did not know.
Then another paragraph.
Ryan came to Patricia's house last Thursday. I heard them argue. He said if I wouldn't do it, they needed someone Claire already trusted because it would make the transition easier later.
Claire stopped breathing for a moment.
Megan.
Angela leaned closer.
"Keep going."
Claire read.
Patricia told him that was dangerous. Ryan said he already had someone in mind.
Claire lowered the letter.
Rebecca's eyes were wet.
"That's why Nicole quit."
Claire looked at her.
"Because she knew?"
"She told me she couldn't work for someone who talked about another woman's embryos like they were property."
The words hurt more because they came from someone only tangentially involved.
Someone outside the marriage had seen what Claire herself had not.
Rebecca removed another document.
"A week after Nicole quit, Patricia sent her this."
It was an email.
Patricia's tone was cold and formal.
It accused Nicole of violating confidentiality and warned her not to discuss "private reproductive planning involving the Parker family."
At the bottom, Patricia reminded Nicole that her employment agreement contained a nondisclosure clause.
Angela said, "That clause wouldn't cover concealment of unlawful conduct."
Rebecca shrugged.
"Nicole wasn't a lawyer."
Claire looked at the letter again.
"Why didn't she send this to me?"
Rebecca's face tightened.
"She was afraid."
"Of Patricia?"
"Of everyone."
Rebecca took a breath.
"She told me the Parkers had money, lawyers, connections. She thought if she got involved, they'd destroy her professionally."
Claire looked down.
She understood that fear too well.
"Did Nicole ever speak to Ryan after quitting?"
"Not that I know."
"Megan?"
"No."
"Marissa?"
Rebecca hesitated.
"Yes."
Cole leaned forward.
"When?"
"A few weeks after she quit."
Claire looked at Rebecca.
"Why?"
"Nicole said Marissa called asking why she had backed out."
Claire's pulse accelerated.
"What did Nicole say?"
"That there was nothing to back out of because Claire had never agreed."
Angela and Cole exchanged a look.
Rebecca continued.
"Then Marissa asked whether Nicole had told you anything."
"What did Nicole say?"
"She lied. Said no."
Claire looked at the letter.
Technically true.
She had written it.
Never sent it.
"What did Marissa do?"
"Nicole said she sounded relieved."
Cole wrote something down.
Rebecca reached deeper into the box.
"There's one more thing."
She produced a small digital recorder.
Claire stared.
"Nicole used that for work sometimes."
"Why do you have it?"
"It was in the box from her office."
Cole put on gloves before touching it.
"Do you know what's on it?"
Rebecca nodded.
"I listened last night."
Claire felt her heartbeat change.
"What?"
Rebecca looked at her.
"A conversation between Nicole and Patricia."
No one spoke.
Rebecca continued.
"It happened two days before Nicole quit."
Cole asked, "Did Nicole record it without Patricia's knowledge?"
"I think so."
He nodded.
Colorado's recording laws were not something Claire understood, but Cole did not appear alarmed.
Rebecca said, "Patricia was angry because Nicole wouldn't agree to be the carrier."
Claire stared at the recorder.
"What else?"
Rebecca hesitated.
"Ryan comes into the conversation."
"How?"
"Patricia says Ryan has become impatient."
Claire's mouth went dry.
Rebecca looked down at the recorder.
"Then she says something about Megan."
Claire's entire body went still.
"What?"
Rebecca met her eyes.
"She says, 'If Ryan insists on using Megan, then Claire can never know until it's done.'"
The room seemed to disappear around the sentence.
Claire had believed Ryan turned to Megan later.
After Nicole refused.
After the marriage deteriorated.
But Nicole's recording placed Megan inside the plan before the divorce.
Possibly before Ryan's affair became visible.
Claire looked at Cole.
"Can you play it?"
He shook his head.
"Not until we preserve and authenticate it."
Rebecca touched Claire's arm.
"I'm sorry."
Claire stared at the letter.
Ryan already had someone in mind.
Megan.
Her best friend.
The woman sitting beside Claire after miscarriages, telling her to rest.
The woman asking how the treatments worked.
The woman Claire had trusted enough to hand a key to her home.
A thought formed so slowly Claire initially rejected it.
Then she asked.
"Rebecca, when did Nicole write this letter exactly?"
Rebecca checked the top of the page.
"January twenty-third."
Claire knew that date.
She wished she didn't.
January twenty-third was the night Megan came over with Thai food because Ryan was supposedly working late.
The night Megan sat at Claire's kitchen table and asked whether frozen embryos could survive indefinitely.
Claire had thought she was curious.
Now she wondered whether Megan had already been asking for herself.
Click here to continue reading: PART 11: Megan Finally Admits She Knew About the Embryos Before the Affair, but Her Version of Ryan’s Proposal Changes Who Planned What
The Last Person Claire Expected to See at the Fertility Clinic Was the Woman Who Had Celebrated Her Divorce
Part 10 of 35
