Chapter 4 - Mara Had Never Consented To A Donor
The clinic opened an internal investigation.
Mara’s attorney opened another.
The first major discovery came from consent forms.
In fertility treatment, paperwork matters.
Whose genetic material is being used.
What happens to unused specimens.
Whether donor sperm is permitted.
What happens if a partner cannot provide a viable sample.
Mara had signed clearly:
No anonymous donor sperm without separate written consent.
Adrian had signed the same page.
So if donor sperm had been used, one of three things had happened.
A medical error.
Fraud inside the clinic.
Or someone had submitted authorization pretending Mara agreed.
The clinic found a separate consent form.
It appeared to carry Mara’s electronic signature.
She stared at it on Massimo’s laptop.
“That isn’t mine.”
The signature image looked like hers.
But the email address tied to the authorization did not.
It differed by one character.
Her real email ended in:
mara.bellini30
The authorization came from:
mara.bellini.30
A nearly identical address.
Created two weeks before the fertility procedure.
Massimo leaned closer.
“Who knew your signature?”
“My husband.”
“Who had copies?”
“My husband.”
The IP logs became worse.
The fake email account had been accessed repeatedly from the Cross mansion’s home network.
Mara stopped breathing for a second.
Adrian had known.
Not simply about his vasectomy.
About the donor.
The baby inside Mara was conceived through a medical process Adrian had manipulated without her informed consent.
That was why he hadn’t asked what Massimo meant.
He knew the baby might not be genetically his because he had arranged it.
But another question immediately followed.
Why?
Why would a husband secretly cause his wife to become pregnant with another man’s genetic child—
then spend eight months pretending it was his?
May you like
Massimo found the first answer in Mara’s prenuptial agreement.
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