Chapter 6 - The Unraveling
Thirty minutes later, Anthony was sitting in my living room, spreading the documents across the coffee table under the bright floor lamp.
His hands were shaking as he read the medical invoices.
"These are invoices for fertility treatments," Anthony whispered, his voice cracking. "Experimental IVF procedures in Massachusetts."
"Look at the dates, Anthony," I pointed to the lower line. "This was during the time you were deployed in Germany with the National Guard."
Anthony stared at the papers, his jaw tightening so hard a muscle twitched near his ear. "We tried to have kids for three years after I got back. She told me the doctors said she was infertile. She told me it was impossible."
"She wasn't trying to have a baby with you," I said softly, the tragic reality finally coming to light. "She was trying to have a baby five years ago. And Shawn was paying the bills."
"Why would Shawn pay for her IVF?" Anthony looked up at me, his eyes wide with horror as the dots began to connect in his mind. "Clara... tell me my brother wasn't..."
"I don't know," I admitted, feeling a sickness rise in my throat. "I don't know how far this goes."
Right on cue, the front door unlocked.
Shawn walked in, holding a set of keys. He had come to collect his work clothes. But when he stepped into the living room and saw Anthony holding the Boston medical files, he stopped dead in his tracks.
"Where did you get those?" Shawn’s voice was barely a whisper.
Anthony stood up slowly. He didn't yell this time. His voice was frighteningly calm. "Shawn. Is Olivia's business debt really from her catering company?"
Shawn swallowed hard, looking between Anthony and me. "Anthony, please..."
"ANSWER ME!" Anthony roared, the sound shaking the window frames.
Shawn dropped his head, leaning against the hallway wall as if his bones could no longer hold his weight. "No," he choked out. "The catering company was a front. She owed money to a private donor who funded the IVF program after the clinic failed. The donor threatened to expose everything to you if she didn't pay back the non-disclosure retainer."
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"Who was the donor, Shawn?" I asked, stepping beside Anthony.
Shawn looked up, tears streaming down his face. "Me. I was the donor."
