Chapter 13 - THE CUSTODY LINE

Ryan wanted equal custody.

My first reaction was no.

Immediate.

Absolute.

Then Naomi asked, "Is he unsafe with the twins?"

I opened my mouth.

Closed it.

He had been selfish.

Dishonest.

Passive while his mother mistreated mine.

He had grabbed Margaret during an argument.

He had hidden financial and fertility information.

But he had never harmed Oliver or Emma.

That distinction mattered legally.

It also mattered morally.

I hated it.

We negotiated temporary parenting time.

Supervised at first.

Then longer visits.

Vivian was not allowed to be alone with the twins.

Ryan objected.

I held firm.

On his third visit, Emma refused to come home with me.

"Daddy house."

Ryan looked terrified, as if enjoying that moment would betray me.

I crouched.

"You want to stay for dinner?"

Emma nodded.

My chest hurt.

"Okay."

On the drive home, I cried in the car.

Not because Ryan had won.

Because my children could love someone I was leaving.

That was how it should be.

It still hurt.

Meanwhile, Margaret Holdings sold the warehouse parcel to a new developer.

Mom made a modest profit.

She wanted to give it to me.

I refused.

"Retirement."

"I don't need that much."

"Learn."

She rolled her eyes.

Then she put most of it into a retirement account.

A small portion went to an arthritis-accessibility nonprofit.

Her choice.

Not mine.

The fertility investigation concluded the clinic had falsified maintenance compliance records.

Criminal investigators became involved.

One executive was charged.

The technician who mislabeled samples agreed to testify.

Leah finally learned that her embryos had most likely been damaged during the refrigeration failure.

Not transferred.

Not stolen.

Lost through negligence and concealment.

She sat outside the courthouse after the announcement.

"I thought knowing would help."

"Does it?"

"No."

I sat beside her.

After a while she said, "Maybe later."

Then my phone rang.

Ryan.

He sounded panicked.

"Claire, Vivian took the twins."

I stood.

"What do you mean took them?"

"She picked them up from daycare using an old authorization."

My entire body went cold.

"Where are they?"

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