Chapter 3 - The Sister's Shadow
I felt physically sick, my stomach churning as the full extent of her monstrous greed washed over me.
“You were going to sell the baby that you gave birth to?” I yelled, completely losing my temper for the first time in my life.
“He isn't mine!” Elena shrieked back, pointing a trembling finger at the innocent child in the midwife's arms.
“He ruined my body, he gave me stretch marks, and he isn't even my own flesh and blood!”
Suddenly, the social worker stepped forward, her face a mask of professional outrage.
“This is human trafficking, ma'am, and I am calling the police immediately,” she announced, pulling a radio from her belt.
“Wait,” Clara’s voice cut through the chaos, sounding strangely calm and authoritative.
My sister stepped out from the shadows of the corner, her eyes fixed intently on the newborn baby.
“The clinic didn't just offer her money to keep quiet,” Clara said, stepping closer to Elena's bed.
“They had to coordinate with the biological parents to ensure a smooth transition of custody after the birth.”
I looked at my sister, confused by the strange, knowing tone in her voice.
“How could you possibly know that, Clara?” I asked, my heart rate spiking once again.
Clara turned to me, her eyes filled with a complicated mixture of guilt and overwhelming love.
“Because, Mark, when my husband David died three years ago, we had exactly one viable embryo left in storage at that same clinic.”
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The room went deadly silent once more.
“I am the biological mother,” Clara confessed, tears finally streaming down her face.
