“Yes.”
“You were also receiving treatment there.”
“Yes.”
“And you never mentioned any of that.”
“I was ashamed.”
“Of what?”
“Of being suspected.”
“Were you?”
She looked away.
“Were you suspected?”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“Because I accessed the incubator records.”
“Why?”
“To check my own cycle.”
“You expect me to believe that?”
“It was against protocol.
I panicked.”
I stepped closer.
“Why was my embryo implanted into you?”
“I don’t know.”
“Why was your embryo implanted into me?”
“I don’t know!”
The front door opened.
Leah stood there again.
“Mom?”
Simone’s face changed instantly.
“I said upstairs.”
“You’re crying.”
Simone wiped her cheeks.
“I’m okay.”
Leah looked frightened.
I lowered my voice.
“We’re finished.”
I returned to my car.
Before closing the door, I looked back.
Simone was holding Leah.
And despite everything I had just learned, one fact remained painfully visible.
Leah loved her.
