Chapter 4 - Rebecca Lang
Elena met Rebecca three days later.
Not at Hale Manor.
Not secretly.
At Gabriel’s secured apartment.
Rebecca stood near the window when Elena entered.
Thin.
Dark-haired.
A scar near her temple.
She looked at Noah.
Then immediately looked away.
That told Elena everything.
Rebecca loved him already.
From a distance.
Painfully.
Elena tightened her arms around the baby.
Rebecca noticed.
“I’m not here to take him.”
Elena cried instantly.
Rebecca did too.
For several seconds, neither knew what to say.
Then Rebecca whispered:
“Thank you.”
“For what?”
“For keeping him alive.”
Elena’s face broke.
“He kept me alive too.”
Rebecca smiled through tears.
They sat.
Gabriel remained outside.
This conversation belonged to them.
Rebecca explained how Hale Medical stole the embryo.
She never consented.
Neither did Gabriel.
Neither did Elena.
Three adults had all been robbed in different ways.
The person least guilty was the child everyone might now fight over.
So they made a decision.
No secret custody battle.
No ownership language.
No pretending biology didn’t matter.
No pretending motherhood could be transferred like property.
Elena remained Noah’s legal and primary mother.
Gabriel and Rebecca would have a relationship only if and when it could be healthy.
Slowly.
Therapists.
Attorneys.
No dramatic handover.
No sacrifice demanded from Elena.
Rebecca held Noah for the first time that afternoon.
Only after asking.
Elena said yes.
Rebecca’s hands shook.
Noah stared at her.
Then sneezed.
May you like
Everyone laughed.
The first normal sound in days.
