Chapter 2 - The Man With the Folder
The camera of every curious phone in the waiting area seemed to turn at once.
Dr. Arthur Sinclair entered through the glass doors carrying a thick cream medical folder against his chest.
Kirsten’s father had spent forty years building his reputation as one of Boston’s most respected pediatric specialists.
He did not hurry.
He never needed to.
Behind him walked Melinda’s father, Walter Travis, his weathered face heavy with disappointment.
The toddler turned toward Walter and reached out one small hand.
Melinda recoiled.
Her heel struck the fallen bottle and sent it sliding through the spilled milk until it stopped beside Connor’s polished shoe.
Connor glanced from Arthur to Melinda.
“What is this?”
Melinda gripped the stroller handle so tightly that her fingers shook.
“You weren’t supposed to be here,” she whispered.
Walter’s face hardened.
“I could say the same thing about what you did at that clinic.”
Connor’s eyes snapped toward him.
Kirsten felt her heartbeat change.
The clinic.
There was only one clinic Walter could mean.
The fertility center where Kirsten and Connor had once stored three embryos.
Arthur stopped beside his daughter and opened the folder halfway.
He removed a sealed envelope.
Connor reached for it.
Arthur slammed the folder shut against his chest and stepped forward, forcing Connor back without touching him.
May you like
“Ask her,” Arthur said coldly, “why the dates don’t match.”
👉 Connor had expected to humiliate Kirsten—but one sentence had turned his perfect family into a public mystery.
