Chapter 2 - The Bill That Wasn't Hers
Lucy was still at the clinic when I called the medical office again.
This time, she authorized them to speak with me.
The representative pulled up the record.
"Mr. Mercer, the invoice is for a consultation and diagnostic procedure."
"What procedure?"
She hesitated.
"A reproductive health consultation."
My stomach tightened.
"Was Lucy pregnant at the time?"
"No."
I looked at my wife.
She shook her head.
The representative continued.
"Your wife's name was used for the appointment."
"By whom?"
"We don't know."
"Who signed the paperwork?"
"There was an electronic signature."
"Whose?"
"Carol Mercer's."
Everything went silent.
My mother had used my wife's name.
For what?
I asked for the medical records.
The clinic emailed them.
The first page listed Lucy's information.
The second page listed the reason for the visit.
I read it twice.
Then a third time.
The appointment involved fertility testing and genetic counseling.
I stared at Lucy.
She looked horrified.
"I never went there."
"I know."
"Why would your mother do that?"
I didn't know.
Then I noticed something.
The appointment had occurred six weeks before Ava's birth.
At the time, Lucy had been pregnant.
Someone had apparently used her identity to obtain medical information about the pregnancy.
I called my attorney.
He arrived within an hour.
We sat at the kitchen table.
He reviewed everything.
"This could be identity fraud."
"Against my wife?"
"Potentially."
"Why?"
He looked at the medical documents.
"That's what we need to determine."
Then he pointed to one line.
"Who's the emergency contact?"
"My mother."
"That means whoever scheduled this appointment wanted the clinic to contact her."
Lucy whispered:
"Why would she need my medical information?"
I looked at her.
Then something occurred to me.
"My mother kept asking about the baby."
Lucy nodded.
"She wanted to know everything."
"Blood type?"
"Yes."
"Due date?"
"Yes."
"Genetic screening?"
Lucy hesitated.
"She asked about that too."
I felt sick.
My mother hadn't been helping.
She had been gathering information.
My attorney asked:
"Did she ever take Lucy to a doctor?"
Lucy nodded.
"Once."
"When?"
"About two months before the birth."
"Why?"
"She said my doctor wanted another test."
Lucy frowned.
"I trusted her."
I immediately asked for the medical records from that appointment.
They arrived later that afternoon.
It wasn't my wife's doctor.
It was a clinic affiliated with a private fertility company.
The records contained something horrifying.
A genetic report.
The name on the report was Ava Mercer.
But Ava hadn't been born yet.
And the report contained a DNA analysis.
I stared at the screen.
Lucy started crying.
"Daniel..."
I couldn't speak.
The report compared maternal DNA.
It matched Lucy.
Then paternal DNA.
It did not match me.
I stared at the result.
No.
That wasn't possible.
I knew when Ava was conceived.
I knew my wife.
I knew our marriage.
I looked at Lucy.
She was crying.
"Daniel, I swear to God..."
I stood.
"Stop."
She froze.
I took a breath.
"I believe you."
Her eyes widened.
"You do?"
"Yes."
"But the test..."
"Someone manipulated something."
My attorney nodded.
"Before you jump to conclusions, we need an independent test."
I looked at the report.
"Do it."
Then he noticed something.
The lab wasn't a standard medical facility.
It was privately owned.
By a company called Mercer Family Genetics.
I had never heard of it.
My attorney searched the corporate registry.
His expression changed.
"Who owns it?"
May you like
He looked at me.
"Your mother."
