Chapter 4

First thing the next morning, I arrived at the hospital.

To build an airtight legal case, I needed the official medical records of the embryo transfer.

The door to the VIP suite was cracked slightly open.

Elena was propped up against the pillows. Sean sat beside her bed, blowing softly on a spoon of warm porridge before feeding her bite by bite.

My mother was peeling an apple by the window. Trevor was adjusting the heating pad over Elena's feet.

Fresh flowers lined the windowsill, and premium health supplements were stacked high on the nightstand.

I stood in the doorway, watching them in silence.

Elena was the first to spot me. She choked on her porridge. "Au... Audrey..."

Everyone turned their heads toward the door.

Sean set the bowl down, frowning as he stood up. "What are you doing here?"

"Collecting evidence," I replied coldly. "I'm here to review the records of my embryo transfer."

My mother slammed the apple onto the table. "Audrey, are you ever going to stop? Can't you see the condition Elena is in? Do you really have to come here and cause a scene right now?"

"The embryo in her womb is legally mine. What's wrong with me confirming the procedure?"

Elena kept her head lowered, clutching the blanket, not saying a word.

Sean fell silent for a few agonizing seconds. "Audrey... there's something I didn't want to tell you yet."

"Speak."

He took a deep breath. "Before the procedure, the routine pre-op screening revealed... Elena was already naturally pregnant."

My mind stalled. "What did you say?"

"She's carrying my biological baby," Sean admitted, looking away. "That night... I drank too much. I made a mistake. Later, we planned to proceed with transferring your embryo into her anyway, but the bloodwork showed she had already conceived. We talked it over and decided to keep this baby. Your embryo is still in cold storage."

I stood frozen, the room spinning around me.

"Then where is my embryo?"

Sean didn't answer.

My mother rushed over and grabbed my wrist. "Audrey, honey, feelings are complicated! Elena is young and fertile, and you're getting old and barren! Just let them have this! You can raise the baby as your own—"

I ripped my hand out of her grasp. "Are you even my biological mother?"

My eyes burned with fury as I glared at Sean. "I asked you a question. Where is my embryo?"

Sean avoided my gaze. "In the cryo-storage lab."

"Take me there. Now."

He hesitated, then finally nodded.

I followed him deep into the basement of the fertility clinic, stopping before the cryogenic preservation lab.

He swiped his access card, entered the pin code, and pulled open the canister labeled with my name.

It was completely empty.

My body began to shake uncontrollably. "Sean... where is my embryo?"

He stood behind me, refusing to meet my eyes.

I spun around to face him, and the horrifying truth crashed down on me.

"You never intended to keep it."

He lowered his head. "Audrey... I'm sorry. After that night, Elena told me she wanted a child that belonged entirely to the two of us. I... I agreed."

"So you destroyed my baby?"

I stared at the man I had loved for a decade.

My knees gave out. I slid down against the freezing metal freezer, collapsing onto the tiled floor.

He reached out to catch me, but I violently jerked away from his touch.

"Sean, you took ten years of my life. And now you couldn't even leave me our very last child."

I gripped the edge of the metal tank, forcing my shaking legs to stand.

"Audrey, I'll explain everything to you. Just go home and wait for me—"

He stepped forward to wrap his arms around me, but I stepped back, avoiding him like the plague.

I reached into my designer tote and pulled out three thick folders.

The divorce petition.

The asset division agreement.

And a confidential fertility diagnostic report.

"Sean, ten cycles of IVF was our final chance. But there is one thing I never told you. It was never because of my body. It was always because of yours."

I flipped open the diagnostic report and thrust the final summary directly in his face.

"Those ten embryos were created with the only viable, motile sperm you had left in your entire existence."

He snapped his head up, the color draining from his face until he was as pale as a corpse.

"You didn't just destroy my embryo, Sean."

"You destroyed the only biological child you will ever have in this lifetime."