Chapter 4 - KELSEY’S VERSION
Kelsey agreed to an interview only through her attorney.
She was twenty-two.
She had met Grant while working at an Ashford charitable event.
Their relationship began eleven months earlier.
Grant told her our marriage had ended privately and that I refused divorce because of family reputation.
He said we had signed an agreement allowing him to create a family with someone else.
Kelsey claimed she underwent fertility treatment because Grant had a low sperm count and she had irregular ovulation.
She said the embryo transferred to her had been created from her egg and Grant’s sperm.
“Did you see laboratory records identifying your egg retrieval?” Detective Ortiz asked.
“I signed forms.”
“Did you undergo retrieval?”
“I had a procedure.”
“What kind?”
“I was sedated.”
Her medical file showed no egg retrieval.
It showed preparation for frozen embryo transfer.
Hormonal suppression.
Endometrial monitoring.
Transfer procedure.
Kelsey said she did not understand the distinction.
That was possible.
Young patients often relied on clinicians.
It was also convenient.
“Did Grant tell you Claire donated embryos?” Ortiz asked.
“No.”
“Did Evelyn?”
Kelsey looked toward her attorney.
“No.”
“Why was Claire expected to sign a parentage acknowledgment?”
“Grant said his divorce settlement required it.”
“Did you see the settlement?”
“No.”
“What did you believe Claire was acknowledging?”
“That she had no claim to my baby.”
The phrase hurt.
Rebecca placed her hand near mine without touching.
Kelsey admitted attending meetings with Grant, Evelyn, and Martin Cole.
She admitted seeing my name on the folder.
She claimed Grant described the papers as routine waiver documents.
She denied knowing my signature was forged.
Her cruelty at the ballroom remained.
She had chosen to enter on Grant’s arm.
She had smiled.
She had watched him strike me.
But she might not have understood the full reproductive scheme.
The court appointed a guardian ad litem to represent the future child’s legal interests without assuming parentage.
No one could order invasive prenatal testing merely to satisfy adult property claims.
Kelsey’s medical care remained under her control.
The guardian requested preservation of blood samples collected during ordinary prenatal treatment, subject to court approval.
At the same time, my obstetrician confirmed something else.
My old infertility diagnosis had been based partly on laboratory markers that did not match current values.
Bodies change.
Tests vary.
But one result appeared impossible.
A blood sample labeled as mine carried a different blood type.
Someone had placed another patient’s result inside my file.
That did not prove every failed treatment was manufactured.
It proved at least one medical record was false.
Grant knew my natural pregnancy would surprise him because he believed the diagnosis he helped present.
I had conceived during a brief reconciliation after my father’s funeral.
Grant left for New York the next morning.
I discovered the pregnancy in Paris.
Dr. Morris and my father knew because I fainted during the estate audit and was taken to a clinic.
I planned to tell Grant after the foundation dinner.
Instead, he arrived with Kelsey.
The police searched our marital home under a limited warrant.
They recovered a locked cabinet from Grant’s office.
Inside were photographs of Kelsey’s ultrasounds, trust summaries, and drafts of my divorce.
A handwritten schedule listed three dates.
KELSEY TRANSFER.
CLAIRE PARIS.
SIGNATURE EVENT.
Beside the foundation dinner date, Grant had written:
PUBLIC BREAK REQUIRED BEFORE BENEFICIARY REVIEW.
May you like
The humiliation had a business purpose.
We still did not know exactly what result he needed from me.
