PART 2
Mrs. Grace fell back into her seat as if her legs had suddenly stopped obeying her.
For the first time since Lucy had known her, she didn’t have a cutting remark ready. There was no mockery, no smile, and none of that “high-society” tone she usually used to make others feel small.
Commander Ocampo placed the folder on the coffee table.
Inside were copies of the transfer consent forms, the lab registry, the thawing authorization, and a preliminary forensic handwriting analysis. The signature at the bottom read: Lucy M. Roberts.
Except, Lucy had never signed that document.
“It’s a good imitation,” the Commander said. “But not perfect.”
Lucy studied the page. The curve of the ‘L’ was similar. The long stroke of the ‘Roberts’ looked close. Whoever had done it knew her signature, or had seen it enough times to replicate it. But there was one detail they couldn’t copy.
From her very first fertility cycle, the clinic required her to sign all medical documents with both of her full middle and last names.
Lucy Marcela Roberts-Aranda.
The fake document only said Lucy M. Roberts.
Mrs. Grace swallowed hard. “This is… this is a family matter.”
Lucy slowly turned toward her. “No. It stopped being a family matter the moment someone used my embryo without my consent.”
The word “my” struck Grace across the face like a slap.
For a year, that woman had been bragging about Camila on social media. Photos with pink bows, embroidered baby blankets, captions like “God rewards good families” and “Finally, the granddaughter we deserved.” She called Jennifer “the daughter-in-law she always dreamed of.” Lucy, without ever being named, was described as “a sad chapter that is finally behind us.”
But Camila wasn’t proof that Jennifer had won.
Camila was proof that Andrew had stolen the one thing Lucy hadn’t been able to lose in the divorce.
The Commander pulled out a photograph. “Mrs. Lujan, did you accompany Jennifer Riva to this clinic on the day of the transfer?”
“No,” she responded too quickly.
Ocampo slid the photo across the table. It was a still image from the parking garage security camera. Mrs. Grace’s silver Lexus was parked two spots away from the main entrance. The date and time were stamped in the corner.
It was the exact day of the transfer.
Grace sat frozen. “I… I just gave her a ride,” she whispered.
“Did you know they were going to use an embryo from your son’s previous relationship?”
“I knew Andrew had embryos stored here,” she blurted out.
She regretted the words the second they left her mouth.
Lucy felt the floor disappear beneath her feet. She had always suspected Andrew hadn’t acted alone. He was selfish, yes. Cowardly, too. But Grace was the strategist. Grace was the one who told him a “broken woman” wasn’t fit to build a family. Grace was the one inviting Jennifer over for dinner before the divorce was even finalized.
Now, the truth was finally showing its face.
The clinic director, Dr. Raul Medina, appeared in the hallway, looking pale. “Let’s move to my office,” he said. “We have already suspended the file and notified the legal department.”
Grace stood up with difficulty. “Lucy, listen to me. That little girl is Andrew’s daughter.”
Lucy didn’t blink. “She is also mine.”
And that was when Grace understood that the lie wasn’t going to end with an apology. It was going to end in a courtroom.
PART 3
Andrew Lujan arrived 25 minutes later, furious before he even knew exactly what he was being accused of. He stormed into the clinic with his suit jacket open, his phone in his hand, and the look of a man accustomed to having others fix his problems. Trailing behind him was Jennifer Riva, carrying a pink diaper bag and wearing dark sunglasses inside the building.
The moment he saw Commander Ocampo, he stopped dead.
Lucy didn’t need anything more. Guilt is recognizable, even when it tries to hide behind expensive sunglasses.
“What is going on here?” Andrew demanded.
Mrs. Grace hurried over to him and whispered something in his ear. Lucy watched her ex-husband’s face transform in three seconds: annoyance, disbelief, and finally, sheer panic.
Dr. Medina led them into a conference room. Waiting on the screen was Valeria Mena, Lucy’s family law attorney. Her face was serene, but her eyes were sharp.
“Mr. Lujan,” Valeria said, “I suggest you do not make any statements without your lawyer present.”
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Andrew let out a fake, jagged laugh. “This is ridiculous. Lucy abandoned those embryos.”
The attorney didn’t even change her tone. “She did not. The cryopreservation contract explicitly requires written authorization from both parties for any transfer.”
