Just after I had given birth, my husband burst into the room—his lover on one arm, his mother on the other. The latter looked at me with contempt and declared: “Your role as a surrogate is over.”
I had barely just given birth when my husband stormed into the room, his lover clinging to one of his arms, and his mother on the other.
The latter gave me an icy glance, then said with a satisfied smile:
— Your surrogacy job is over.
My husband laughed.
— You didn’t seriously think I’d spend the rest of my life with a poor woman like you, Claire, did you?
Then he ripped my baby from my arms.
The pain from my stitches began to burn unbearably, and the world around me suddenly went completely white.
They were convinced there was no one I could rely on.
But they never bothered to ask who my father was…
And soon they would learn how quickly a seemingly perfect life can collapse.
The first sound my daughter heard upon coming into the world was her father declaring that she belonged to another woman.
The second was my scream when he tore her from my arms.
Forty minutes earlier, I had given birth to Lily.
My body was still trembling under the hospital blanket, my stitches hurting unbearably when the door suddenly burst open.
Adrian walked in with confident steps, wearing an elegant anthracite-gray suit.
On his arm was Vanessa, his lover, wearing a luxury cream-colored dress.
On his other arm walked his mother, Celeste, wearing the satisfied smile of someone who had come to celebrate victory.
Vanessa looked down at my baby.
— She has Adrian’s eyes — she whispered.
Celeste leaned over my bed.
— Your role as a surrogate is over.
For a moment, I thought the medication was clouding my mind.
Then Adrian laughed.
— You didn’t seriously think I’d stay with a poor woman like you, Claire, did you?
He took Lily into his arms.
The little girl immediately started crying.
Her cry tore into my heart more than any wound ever could.
— Give her back — I whispered.
My voice was weak.
Yet an eerie silence immediately filled the room.
Adrian then pulled out a folder.
— You signed a contract. Vanessa and I are the legal parents. You were paid to carry this child.
I looked at him in shock.
— I only signed hospital consent forms.
— You signed exactly what I gave you.
Celeste gently stroked my face.
— You should be grateful. We gave you a comfortable life for three years.
The nurse by the door frowned.
— Mr. Hale, immediately return the baby to its mother.
Vanessa immediately cut in:
— I am the mother.
Adrian ordered the nurse to leave the room.
But she remained still.
That was his first mistake.
The second was throwing the folder onto my bed.
The third was thinking I was too broken to read it.
I quickly skimmed the documents.
The signature looked like mine.
But the date was from a weekend when I had been in Boston.
The notary seal was from Nevada.
And the supposed two-hundred-thousand-dollar payment…
I had never received it.
Suddenly, I stopped resisting.
Adrian mistook my silence for surrender.
— When you’re discharged from the hospital, security will escort you out. Your apartment lease has been terminated. All your bank cards have been blocked.
Celeste smiled.
— No husband. No child. No money.
I looked at little Lily’s angry, flushed face.
I took a deep breath.
— Can I hold her one last time?
Vanessa laughed.
— Absolutely not.
Then I reached for the phone beside me.
Adrian violently pulled my hand away.
— Who are you trying to call?
— My father.
A mocking smile appeared on his face.
During the three years of our marriage, I had only told him that my relationship with my father was complicated.
He never asked why.
I turned to the nurse.
— Please… call the emergency contact number I provided. Tell him that Claire Whitmore needs him immediately.
Celeste’s smile vanished instantly.
The nurse checked my file.
Then slowly looked up at me.
— Whitmore?
I nodded.
— Yes… that Whitmore.
