Robert remained standing.
He laid out the timeline without drama.
During Lauren and Travis’s marriage, Harborview created and stored multiple embryos for them.
Their governing agreement required joint consent for transfer.
After the divorce filing, one embryo was released for transfer to Kendra.
The clinic file contained an authorization bearing Lauren’s name and a signature presented as hers.
Lauren denied signing it.
Records supported her denial.
And the clinic’s internal audit had found irregularities in the way the authorization entered the system.
The director swallowed before adding, “The electronic version was uploaded after normal business hours.”
Lauren’s attorney leaned forward.
“Uploaded by whom?”
“We cannot responsibly answer that yet.”
Robert looked at the director.
“But you have access logs.”
“Yes.”
“And those have been preserved?”
“Yes.”
Patricia stood abruptly.
“This is ridiculous.
Travis would never forge her signature.”
Nobody had accused Travis of doing that.
Not yet.
The room went silent.
Patricia realized what she had said.
Lauren watched Robert’s expression remain perfectly neutral.
Her attorney wrote one line on his legal pad.
Patricia sat back down.
“I mean obviously that’s what she wants everyone to think.”
Lauren looked at her.
“Why would that be obvious?”
“Because you hate him.”
“I divorced him.”
“He divorced you.”
The old correction came out instantly, almost triumphantly.
There it was.
Even now, Patricia cared about who had rejected whom.
Lauren opened her navy folder.
Inside were printed emails, billing notices, copies of the embryo agreement, travel records, and screenshots from the old account that had received Harborview’s message.
She did not throw them across the table.
She simply slid the billing email toward Robert.
“This is how I found out.”
Robert read it.
“Four months after the divorce?”
“Yes.”
“You had received no transfer notification before this?”
“None.”
“No request for renewed consent?”
“No.”
“No call from Mr.
Caldwell?”
Lauren almost laughed.
“Travis barely called to discuss the house.”
Her attorney added quietly, “We also requested the embryo inventory history.
One unit disappears from storage on the transfer date.”
Patricia turned toward the clinic director.
