Chapter 2 - The House of Cards
A collective gasp echoed through the retirement party.
My mother let out a horrific, gut-wrenching sob and collapsed into her chair.
My father stared at the open briefcase, his jaw trembling as the reality of the situation set in.
"Natalie," Dad whispered, his voice cracking with disbelief. "Tell me this isn't true."
Natalie’s eyes darted frantically around the room, looking for any possible escape route.
"He's lying!" she screamed, pointing an accusing finger at Dr. Evans.
"This hack doctor was running a scam, and he's trying to pin it on me to reduce his own sentence!"
Dr. Evans shook his head, pulling a stack of printed emails from the metal case.
"I have every single wire transfer, Natalie," the doctor said, his voice gaining a desperate strength.
"I have the emails where you specified which genetic traits your buyers were looking for."
"You targeted your own sister because her IQ and physical health profile commanded the highest price on the surrogate market."
I felt violently ill.
My own flesh and blood, the sister I had shared a childhood with, had turned my deepest trauma into a business transaction.
She had watched me cry over negative pregnancy tests while actively selling my unborn children.
Luke lunged forward, his restraint finally breaking.
He grabbed the collar of Dr. Evans' suit, shoving the older man back against the table.
"Where are they?" Luke roared, spit flying from his lips.
"Where are our children, you absolute monster?"
Agent Harris quickly stepped between them, putting a firm hand on Luke’s chest to push him back.
"Stand down, sir," the agent warned, though his tone was sympathetic.
"We are tracking down the recipients, but right now, we need to secure the premises."
Dad suddenly moved, trying to slip quietly toward the kitchen exit behind the stage.
"Hold it right there, Arthur," Agent Harris commanded, his voice slicing through the chaos.
Dad froze in his tracks, looking like a trapped animal.
"I didn't know about the medical side," Dad stammered, raising his hands in surrender.
"I only knew about the fake policies."
Mom looked up from her hands, her face streaked with ruined makeup and absolute devastation.
"You knew?" she asked him, her voice barely a whisper.
Dad couldn't look her in the eye.
"The agency was going bankrupt, Helen," he pleaded weakly.
"Natalie came up with a way to keep us afloat, I swear I didn't know she was hurting Grace."
Natalie laughed then, a cold, bitter sound that sent chills down my spine.
"Oh, please, Dad," Natalie sneered, tossing her hair over her shoulder.
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"You signed off on every single offshore transfer."
"You didn't care where the money came from as long as you got to keep your country club membership."
