Chapter 14 - THE WOMAN WHO LOST CONTROL|
Rebecca requested a private meeting with Michael.
He refused.
She sent messages, left voicemails, and eventually contacted him through her attorney. Each message followed the same pattern: she claimed she had been protecting him, then accused him of betraying her by cooperating with the investigation.
Michael showed me the messages.
“She says she did everything for our family.”
I looked at the screen.
“She did it to protect herself.”
He nodded.
“I know that now.”
Rebecca eventually agreed to meet at her attorney's office with the investigators present. She wanted to explain her actions before the case moved forward.
Michael attended because the forged signature involved him.
I attended because the altered records had affected my children.
Ethan and Noah chose not to come.
Rebecca entered wearing a cream-colored suit. She looked composed, but her hands trembled when she saw the evidence folder on the table.
Her attorney began by stating that she denied any intent to cause harm.
The investigator placed the audit report in front of her.
“Did you access the newborn records on the date shown?”
Rebecca looked at her lawyer.
“I don't remember.”
“Did you alter the identification numbers?”
“I corrected an administrative discrepancy.”
“Did you forge Michael Hartley's signature?”
“No.”
The investigator showed her the handwriting analysis.
Rebecca stared at it.
Then she looked at Michael.
“You know why I did it.”
Michael's voice was quiet.
“No. I don't.”
“I was trying to protect you.”
“From what?”
“From losing everything.”
He shook his head.
“You made me believe my children might not be mine. You made me believe there was no point trying to find out.”
“I was afraid.”
“So was Laura. So were the boys. But you were the one who had the information.”
Rebecca's expression hardened.
“You think you're innocent? You walked away. You left me to deal with the consequences of your decisions.”
Michael lowered his eyes.
“I am not innocent. I abandoned my sons. I have never denied that. But you don't get to use my failure to excuse what you did.”
The investigator asked Rebecca why she had kept the records hidden.
She claimed the hospital administrator had instructed her to do so. But when asked whether she had received any written order to forge a signature or remove the verification page, she said nothing.
Then the investigator produced a final document.
It was a letter Rebecca had written to a friend thirteen years earlier.
In it, she described the hospital incident and said that Michael would never discover the truth if he remained convinced that the twins might not be biologically his.
Rebecca's face went white.
Her attorney asked for a break.
Outside the conference room, Michael stood beside me.
“I should have listened to you.”
“Yes.”
“I should have come back.”
“Yes.”
“I don't expect you to forgive me.”
“I don't know whether I ever will.”
He nodded.
“I understand.”
For a moment, neither of us spoke.
Then he asked, “Do you think the boys will ever want me around?”
I considered the question.
“That decision belongs to them.”
“I know.”
“Don't ask them to comfort you. Don't make them responsible for your regret. If you want to become part of their lives, you have to show up consistently and accept whatever boundaries they set.”
Michael looked toward the conference room.
“I can do that.”
When the meeting resumed, Rebecca's attorney advised her not to answer further questions.
The investigators informed her that the matter would be referred to prosecutors.
Outside, Rebecca caught up with Michael.
“You're choosing them over me?”
Michael stopped.
“No. I'm choosing the truth.”
She looked at me with open hostility.
“You've ruined everything.”
I met her gaze.
“No, Rebecca. The truth didn't ruin your life. Your choices did.”
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Then I walked away.
For the first time, she had no clever answer.
