Chapter 105
Daniel’s POV
Daniel’s Mansion – Later at night
I couldn’t believe my eyes as I stared at the records Isabella discovered before me.
Another recipient who had the same donor number as Adrian’s file did.
The same donor number showed again and again in the donor section.
At first I glared at the numbers trying to find if maybe a number was overwritten by mistake or maybe three was written in place of four.
Then I thought maybe it was an administrative error.
A filling mistake, after all this was fifteen years back, maybe the nurse or doctor made a mistake.
Or maybe it was a duplicate entry of Adrian.
I kept trying to convince myself this must be a mistake p>
It has to be anything but a new different entry.
But the more I tried to convince myself, the more my head kept telling p>
This is not a duplicate.
“Daniel,” Isabella said. “This is for real p>
I sat beside Isabella on the bed as we reviewed page by page.
We reviewed every date,
Every notation and every code over and over again.
The records were visibly old to the point some pages were damaged, some were incomplete.
Yet one fact remained consistent and clear.
Adrian alone had changed my life to no return.
Just yesterday, I was a man who had adopted a girl eight years ago, today I was a father of a sixteen year old.
I was just beginning to understand how I missed sixteen years of my son’s life.
Now the possibility of another child stood before me.
Another teenager’s life I missed,
Another child who was carrying my genes.
Another child who was connected to me.
Adrian was in front of me, so these questions didn’t come to my mind.
But with the other one p>
They did p>
Was the child happy?
Was he or she loved by his or her parents?
Do they know they were conceived from a donor?
Or were they also carrying the same question as Adrian; who’s my father?
The donor identity linked back to me in two recipient files or two confirmed pregnancies.
I understood that this was something that no one could explain
This realization settled slowly within me.
I understood something that perhaps no one could explain to me in words.
I quickly picked up my phone and dialed a number.
“Jonathan?” I said frantically. “Come over…please p>
“We’re on our way,”Jonathan said as he disconnected the call.
Jonathan arrived with Veronica within minutes.
While waiting for them, I continued to review the files again.
The more I read, the more uncomfortable I became.
After knowing about Adrian being from this donor thing, knowing there might be another was making me uncomfortable.
As they arrived, they saw documents were spread across the bed.
“What’s going on?” Veronica asked.
“Read these,” I told them.
Jonathan and Veronica began to study the records page by page.
Then they connected the dates, and donor number.
They didn’t speak a word as the atmosphere grew heavier within minutes.
Just then Jonathan notices a notation that we all missed.
This notation linked Daniel’s donor number to two separate recipients.
It was clear.
His donated sample went to two not one.
One file recipient was clearly Imelda Harmon and the result of that pregnancy was Adrian.
The second recipient’s name was unclear as it had been tampered with.
But there was no doubt there was another recipient.
Silence fell in the room.
Now it was a fact none of us could deny.
I leaned back in my chair as I covered my face with my hands in despair.
My mind was struggling as I was trying to process everything in my head.
For sixteen years, I didn’t know I had a son.
That itself was a life changing fact for me.
Now the records say fifteen years ago I had another child and he or she is somewhere in this world.
Another child.
Fifteen years old.
Another truth hidden from me, unknown from me.
The thought itself was overwhelming for me.
And maybe I wasn’t the only one as Jonathan himself looked shocked.
“let’s try tracing the paperwork,” Isabella said. “Maybe we missed the name somewhere p>
“Yes,” Veronica said. “One thing we know is whoever the recipient is, she didn’t get treated at Livelane p>
“Yes,” Jonathan said. “It’s clear the specimen was transferred to another fertility clinic p>
The fact that the specimen was transferred, felt odd on hearing.
Jonathan pulled some papers together.
“Look at this,” he said.
“It’s clear the doctor from Livelane wasn’t operating alone p>
“He has made several transfers to other fertility clinics p>
“Which means these records were incomplete as he didn’t want to leave a trace to them p>
He pointed towards some dates.
“Look,” he said. “These are the dates the medical transfers were made on paper p>
“Then,” he continued. “These are the invoices, the shipment details, and the patient files p>
“Some records are destroyed, but most of the information is intact p>
“This means these fertility clinics bought specimens for their own customers.” I said.
“Exactly,” Jonathan said. “That’s why it’s hard to find the recipient name p>
“On top of that several sections are destroyed p>
I also noticed part of the writing was also faded at places.
And some were unreadable.
“I don’t know why,” Jonathan said. “I feel as if the records have been deliberately destroyed p>
“I agree with you,” Veronica said.
“The gaps don’t feel accidental,” Jonathan said. “It seems as if it’s targeted p>
We all realized we were dealing with another truth that was hidden even if it might be right before our eyes.
“Hey,” Veronica said. “What’s this p>
She said pointing to one file that was left.
“Oh,” Isabella said. “I think we missed that one p>
Veronica picked the file and studied it.
Then she passed it to Jonathan.
“The records seemed to be damaged, and some are the same, incomplete p>
“But Jonathan trailed off as he took a closer look at the page.
“Enough p>
I noticed the file appeared to be different from the other files.
Then I realized the file belonged to the fertility clinic.
This file had most of the identifying information deliberately removed.
Still p>
There were enough fragments to clarify the file was of mine donation specimen.
“Here,” Jonathan said as the color from his face disappeared.
“I got a name p>
“What’s going on p>
We all got shocked as Adrian walked in.
“Uncle, Aunt?” he said, shocked.
Isabella was going to change the topic, but I stopped her.
“Isabella,” I said. “If there is, then he or she is Adrian’s sibling as well p>
“Adrian,” I said looking at him. “We just found from the files, another recipient used my sample so there’s another possible child of mine, your sibling p>
Adrian became quiet, probably absorbing the information he just heard.
No doubt the revelation surprised him.
But instead of showing fear, or shock he was more curious.
“So, can we find out who he or she is p>
Adrian sat down quietly.
For years he searched for one father.
Now there was a possibility of having a real sibling.
For a child who never had a normal family, the thought was interesting.
On top of that, the sibling could connect to the same story as his.
“Does that child know?” he asked,
“Do they know about this fact, or do they also like me p>
None of us answered as no one had the answer.
His curiosity was shining clearly in his eyes.
We all studied the last file.
Every detail was read again and again.
The recipient information had faded.
But was not completely gone, it still could be read.
Veronica used a magnifying glass to read the alphabets.
For nearly an hour she compared the writing from the damaged papers.
While Jonathan recreated the missing letters.
Isabella also arranged the dates according to month so we could get a clear picture.
At times it looked like we got a name, but then it turned out to be wrong.
The handwriting was unclear, making us read the wrong names.
Eventually fragments began to fit in place.
A name began to emerge like a puzzle was forming.
Veronica began to compare the writing of the doctor and nurses to know what was written.
Slowly after a lot of cutting a name began to appear.
My heart skipped a beat as the name finally came to view.
Silence fell in the room.
No one moved, let alone spoke.
The file lay open before us.
One page p>
The donor number confirmed was mine.
The recipient number was confirmed.
The fertility transfer record confirmed.
The fertility process was confirmed successful.
Everything was the same process as with Imelda’s.
As my eyes fell on the recipient name that Veronica wrote,
Overall, the name shouldn’t matter to me.
Yet somehow that name meant the world to me.
My heartbeat accelerated as I read the name.
I noticed Jonathan, Veronica and Adrian were also concerned.
“Daniel!?” Jonathan asked but I could not respond.
I continued to stare at the page.
I was still reading the surviving entry.
I don’t know why, but I was hoping someone would make things clear as I couldn’t make out a thing.
But the name was there p>
Right in front of me.
Clear.
Undeniable.
My face slowly lost its color.
I felt as if the room was caving in on me.
Then I lifted my gaze from the file as shock was clearly visible on my face.
I was confused, and shocked at the same time.
All eyes were on me.
From the first time since I knew Adrian was mine and the source was because of a donation I never knew about p>
I was genuinely shaken on knowing there’s another one.
And that too p>
“No I finally spoke. “This can’t be, it’s impossible p>