Chapter 6 - THE FAMILY HE TRIED TO CREATE ON PAPER
The hearing took place in a Franklin County courtroom under tight privacy rules.
The issue was narrow: whether Colin could exercise control over the second embryo without Rachel’s consent.
The story surrounding it was not narrow at all.
Colin testified first.
He described Owen’s death, the collapse of his marriage and his belief that the remaining embryos represented “the last living part of our son’s family.”
“The embryos were created so Rachel and I could have children,” he said. “She should not be allowed to destroy them merely because she no longer wants me.”
Rachel’s attorney asked whether Colin forged her consent.
“I relied on Maria.”
“The authorization was submitted from your office.”
“She used my computer.”
“The payment came from Hayes Legacy Planning.”
“I helped with medical expenses.”
“You retained an attorney to establish paternity before Maria became pregnant.”
“I was protecting my rights.”
“You prepared trust-distribution projections.”
Colin looked toward the judge.
“Any responsible parent plans financially.”
The judge asked why the projections began before a pregnancy existed.
Colin’s answer became less certain.
Maria entered the courtroom using her cane. Her lawyer reminded her that testimony could be used in a criminal case.
“I understand,” she said.
She admitted that Rachel never gave permission.
She admitted forging the signature and using the expired license.
She admitted lying to the Ohio clinic when it called to verify the shipping contact.
Colin stared at her.
“You told me the email was enough,” Maria said.
His attorney objected, but the judge allowed her to explain.
Colin showed her an email suggesting Rachel would not object. Maria wanted to believe it. When formal consent was required, Colin told her that Rachel was too emotionally unstable to sign and that the family needed to “help her make the choice she would make if she were well.”
“Did you believe Rachel lacked capacity?” the attorney asked.
“No.”
“Then why proceed?”
Maria looked at her daughter.
“Because I believed grief entitled me to disobey her.”
The sentence left no one else to blame.
Colin’s attorney asked whether Maria planned to raise the child herself.
“Yes.”
“Did Mr. Hayes ever promise you custody?”
“He said we would bring the baby home.”
“That is not a custody agreement.”
“No.”
“So you made assumptions.”
“Yes.”
“And when the assumptions failed, you blamed him.”
Maria gripped the witness stand.
“I blame him for what he did. I blame myself for what I did.”
Rachel testified last.
Colin’s lawyer questioned her about delaying a final decision on the embryos after the separation.
“You left them in storage for almost two years.”
“Yes.”
“You refused transfer.”
“Yes.”
“You refused destruction.”
“Yes.”
“You wanted permanent control while denying the genetic father any path to parenthood.”
Rachel paused before answering.
“I was unable to decide while grieving my son and ending my marriage.”
“So you did nothing.”
“Continued storage was a decision both of us had already agreed to.”
“You knew Mr. Hayes wanted another child.”
“He wanted control of a child.”
The lawyer asked that the final phrase be stricken as speculation.
Dana responded with Colin’s guardianship drafts, trust projections and the second carrier agreement.
The evidence did not require Rachel to guess.
Colin planned to establish sole custody of Maria’s baby.
He planned to request trust distributions immediately after birth.
He arranged another carrier while Maria remained pregnant.
He described the second embryo as a backup beneficiary.
Colin asked to address Rachel directly.
His lawyer tried to stop him.
The judge permitted one question through counsel.
“Did you ever love the children we might have had?”
Rachel looked across the courtroom.
“I loved what they represented enough to be afraid of making the wrong decision.”
“Then why destroy the last one?”
“Because you turned potential life into financial leverage.”
“That embryo is mine too.”
“It came from both of us. That is why neither of us has the right to use it alone.”
Colin’s expression changed.
“Your mother understood family better than you.”
Maria spoke from behind him.
“No. I understood loss badly enough to help you.”
The judge ruled that the original storage agreement remained controlling. No embryo could be transferred without both genetic parents’ written consent.
Colin’s forged documents gave him no authority.
The second embryo would remain under independent storage until Rachel and Colin reached a lawful disposition agreement or a later court order resolved the dispute.
It was not the final outcome Rachel wanted.
It stopped the immediate transfer.
Outside the courtroom, investigators waited to interview Colin about the forged authorization and clinic payments. They did not handcuff him in front of cameras.
His attorney walked him into a private room.
Before entering, Colin looked at Maria.
“You lost the baby and your daughter.”
Maria absorbed the cruelty without looking away.
“The baby was never mine,” she said.
May you like
Then she turned toward Rachel.
“And whether I lose my daughter is no longer my decision.”
