Melissa Grant stepped into the conference room wearing plain gray clothes instead of her usual white clinic uniform.

She looked exhausted.

Dark circles framed her eyes, and her hands shook as she clutched a thick manila folder against her chest.

The moment Patricia saw her, she stood so abruptly that her chair scraped across the floor.

“You.”

Melissa lowered her eyes.

“I’m sorry.”

Ryan took one step forward.

“Don’t say another word.”

Detective Andrew Cole immediately raised a hand.

“Mr. Parker, sit down.”

Ryan ignored him.

Melissa finally looked at Ryan.

“I’ve protected you for almost two years.”

Ryan’s face hardened.

“You don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“I know exactly what I’m talking about.”

The room became silent.

Melissa placed the folder on the conference table.

“I’ve come to confess.”

Angela Morris leaned closer to the speakerphone.

“Everything you say from this point forward should be truthful.”

Melissa nodded.

“It will be.”

She slowly opened the folder.

Inside were printed emails.

Bank records.

Appointment schedules.

Phone logs.

And handwritten notes.

Detective Cole carefully spread them across the table.

“When did this begin?” he asked.

Melissa closed her eyes.

“The day Ryan Parker came to my office alone.”

Claire stared at him.

Ryan refused to look at her.

Melissa continued.

“He asked whether frozen embryos could still be transferred after a divorce.”

Dr. Reed quietly answered.

“They can—but only with written consent from both genetic parents.”

Melissa nodded.

“I told him exactly that.”

She swallowed.

“Three weeks later, he came back.”

“What happened then?” Cole asked.

“He wasn’t alone.”

Everyone looked toward Ryan.

Melissa slowly turned her head.

“Patricia Parker came with him.”

Patricia’s face instantly drained of color.

“She’s lying.”

Melissa didn’t react.

“Mrs. Parker said Claire had suffered enough.”

Claire felt her stomach tighten.

Melissa continued.

“She told me Claire would never use the embryos again.”

Patricia shook her head violently.

“I never said that.”

“You did.”

Melissa’s voice remained calm.

“You said your son deserved a family before he became too old.”

Ryan closed his eyes.

Melissa reached into the folder again.

She removed a small digital voice recorder.

“I started recording our meetings after they offered me money.”

Ryan’s head snapped upward.

Patricia whispered,

“No…”

Detective Cole accepted the recorder carefully.

“You recorded them?”

Melissa nodded.

“I was scared.”

“Why didn’t you report them?”

She laughed bitterly.

“Because by then I had already accepted the first payment.”

The room remained completely silent.

“My husband needed emergency heart surgery.”

Her voice cracked.

“Our insurance denied most of it.”

Tears rolled down her cheeks.

“I told myself I would only answer questions.”

She looked down.

“Then I accepted another payment.”

Another tear fell.

“Then another.”

Claire watched her quietly.

Melissa looked toward her.

“I told myself I wasn’t hurting anyone.”

She broke into sobs.

“I kept repeating that lie until Lily was born.”

Claire’s heart ached.

Melissa wiped her face.

“The day I watched Megan carry that baby through the clinic lobby…”

She couldn’t continue for several seconds.

“…I realized I had helped steal someone else’s child.”

Ryan suddenly slammed both hands on the table.

“Enough!”

Everyone jumped.

“You made your own decisions.”

Melissa looked directly into his eyes.

“No.”

Her voice was steady now.

“I made terrible decisions.”

She paused.

“But I wasn’t the one who planned this.”

Ryan froze.

Detective Cole leaned forward.

“Who did?”

Melissa slowly turned toward Patricia.

“The first person who ever mentioned using Claire’s embryos…”

She took a long breath.

“…was Patricia Parker.”

The room exploded into shouting.

Patricia shot to her feet.

“She’s lying!”

“I have the recordings.”

“You forged them!”

“I have every bank transfer.”

Ryan stared at his mother.

His lips parted.

“You…”

Patricia looked at her son in disbelief.

“Ryan…”

“You told me no one would ever find out.”

The entire room went silent.

Ryan realized what he had just admitted.

Detective Cole calmly reached into his jacket.

He removed a small digital recorder.

The red recording light was flashing.

“Mr. Parker,” he said quietly.

“Would you like to repeat that statement?”

Ryan’s face turned completely white.

For the first time since the investigation began…

He understood there was no way back.

CONTINUE READ >>>> PART 6