CHAPTER 2 — THE MISSING SEMEN TEST
Laura didn't sleep.
The photograph on her phone remained open until dawn.
Her own house.
Her own driveway.
Her own bedroom window visible in the background.
Someone had been watching her.
And beneath the image:
YOU WERE NEVER SUPPOSED TO GET PREGNANT.
Then the final message:
ASK PAOLA WHY.
Laura had spent the entire night trying to convince herself it was a cruel prank.
But one fact kept destroying that explanation.
The divorce papers.
Diego had hired his attorney three days before she told him she was pregnant.
How could he have planned a divorce over a pregnancy he supposedly didn't know existed?
At 6:42 a.m., Laura finally got out of bed.
She showered.
Dressed.
Then placed the pregnancy test, the divorce papers, and a printed copy of Diego's medical record into a folder.
She was no longer going to beg anyone to believe her.
She was going to find out who had lied.
At 8:10 a.m., Laura returned to Dr. Salinas's office.
The doctor was already waiting.
“I thought you might come back.”
Laura placed the folder on the desk.
“I need everything.”
Dr. Salinas looked at her.
“Everything?”
“Every record concerning Diego's vasectomy.”
The doctor nodded.
“I requested the original electronic records last night.”
“And?”
“They refused.”
Laura's stomach tightened.
“Who refused?”
“Westbrook Men's Health.”
“Why?”
“They claim the records are protected by internal confidentiality procedures.”
Laura stared at her.
“Those are my husband's medical records.”
“Exactly.”
“Then why are they hiding them?”
Dr. Salinas leaned back.
“That is what concerns me.”
She opened her laptop.
“I did, however, recover something before their administrator restricted access.”
“What?”
“Audit logs.”
Laura frowned.
“What are those?”
“Every time someone opens, changes, uploads, or deletes information from a patient's electronic record, the system creates a digital trail.”
“And?”
Dr. Salinas turned the screen toward her.
Laura read the first line.
PATIENT RECORD ACCESSED: DIEGO RIVERA
Date.
Two days before his supposed vasectomy.
Then another entry.
Three days later.
Another.
Then another.
Laura's eyes widened.
“That's a lot.”
Dr. Salinas nodded.
“Far too much.”
“Who accessed it?”
“That's the interesting part.”
She clicked.
The name appeared.
PAOLA MENDOZA.
Laura stopped breathing.
“No.”
Dr. Salinas looked at her.
“That's what I thought.”
Laura stared at the screen.
“Why would Paola have access to Diego's medical file?”
“She shouldn't.”
“Could she have been authorized?”
“Not unless Diego signed a specific release.”
“Did he?”
“No.”
Laura's hands began to tremble.
“Then she shouldn't have been in there.”
“No.”
Dr. Salinas clicked again.
“There is more.”
A list appeared.
Paola had accessed the file eleven times.
The first time was four days before Diego's vasectomy.
The last was the morning Laura took the pregnancy test.
Laura stared at the dates.
“That's impossible.”
“Why?”
“She couldn't have known.”
Dr. Salinas looked at her.
“Apparently, she did.”
Laura drove directly to Paola's office.
She waited in the lobby for nearly forty minutes.
Finally, Paola appeared.
The moment she saw Laura, she stopped.
“You.”
Laura walked toward her.
“We need to talk.”
Paola glanced around.
“Not here.”
“Fine.”
They stepped into an empty conference room.
Paola closed the door.
“What do you want?”
Laura placed the printed audit log on the table.
Paola looked down.
Her face changed.
“You accessed Diego's medical records.”
Paola said nothing.
“Eleven times.”
“I had permission.”
“From whom?”
“Diego.”
“Then why isn't there a release?”
Paola looked away.
Laura stepped closer.
“Why did you access his file before his vasectomy?”
Paola's silence was answer enough.
Laura's voice became quieter.
“Why did you schedule his procedure?”
Paola looked up sharply.
“How did you know that?”
Laura's heart dropped.
“So it's true.”
Paola swallowed.
“Laura…”
“You scheduled it.”
“I helped him.”
“Why?”
“He asked me to.”
“No.”
Laura shook her head.
“You're lying.”
Paola looked exhausted.
“You don't understand.”
“Then explain it.”
“I can't.”
“Why?”
“Because if I tell you, you won't believe me.”
Laura stared at her.
“Try me.”
Paola closed her eyes.
“Diego didn't want the vasectomy.”
Laura froze.
“What?”
“He was pressured into it.”
“By whom?”
Paola didn't answer.
“Who?”
“His mother.”
Laura's expression hardened.
“Why?”
“She believed you would never have children.”
Laura frowned.
“That doesn't make sense.”
“It does if you know what happened eight years ago.”
“What happened?”
Paola looked at her.
“You weren't supposed to be able to get pregnant.”
Laura felt the room tilt.
“What are you talking about?”
Paola's voice dropped.
“Before you married Diego, someone contacted a fertility clinic.”
Laura stared.
“Who?”
Paola hesitated.
“Your mother-in-law.”
Laura sat down.
Her mind raced through memories.
Eight years earlier.
The wedding.
The first year of marriage.
The endless conversations about children.
The doctors who told her everything looked normal.
Diego repeatedly saying:
“Maybe we're just not meant to have kids.”
Laura had believed him.
For eight years, she had believed the infertility was simply bad luck.
Now she wondered if it had been engineered.
“Did Diego know?”
Paola shook her head.
“Not everything.”
“What did he know?”
“That his mother wanted him to avoid having children with you.”
“Why?”
Paola looked frightened.
“I don't know.”
“You're lying again.”
“I swear.”
“Then why did you help schedule the vasectomy?”
“Because I thought it was harmless.”
“Harmless?”
“He told me it was temporary.”
“A vasectomy is not temporary.”
“I know that now.”
Laura stared at her.
“You're not a doctor.”
“No.”
“Then why were you involved?”
Paola's eyes filled with tears.
“Because Diego asked me to help.”
Laura studied her.
“Why?”
Paola finally whispered:
“Because he was afraid of his mother.”
That answer sounded absurd.
Until Laura remembered Evelyn.
The woman who had collected her son's clothes without asking a single question.
The woman who had publicly called Laura a disgrace.
The woman who had immediately believed Laura was guilty.
Maybe she had known.
Maybe she had been waiting.
Laura left Paola's office with more questions than answers.
But one thing was clear.
The vasectomy had not been a simple medical decision.
Someone had planned it.
Someone had accessed Diego's medical records.
Someone had prepared divorce documents before Laura announced her pregnancy.
And someone had known about her pregnancy almost immediately.
There was a pattern.
Laura just couldn't see the entire picture.
Yet.
That afternoon, Dr. Salinas called.
“I found something.”
Laura answered immediately.
“What?”
“I obtained a secondary copy of Diego's surgical record.”
“From where?”
“The laboratory.”
“Is it different?”
“Yes.”
“How?”
“The original record states the vasectomy was performed on May 14.”
“And?”
“The laboratory received a specimen associated with Diego on May 11.”
Laura stopped walking.
“Three days before.”
“Yes.”
“What was the specimen?”
“Semen analysis.”
Laura's heart pounded.
“But Diego said the vasectomy was on May 14.”
“Correct.”
“So he had a semen test before the surgery.”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“I don't know.”
Laura thought.
“Was there a result?”
“Yes.”
“What did it say?”
Dr. Salinas hesitated.
“Normal sperm count.”
Laura's blood went cold.
“Normal?”
“Yes.”
“Then why is that important?”
“Because the laboratory record proves something very specific.”
“What?”
“Someone was already testing Diego's fertility before the vasectomy.”
Laura stared into the distance.
“Why?”
“I don't know.”
“Could it have been routine?”
“No.”
“Why not?”
“Because this wasn't a routine pre-operative screening.”
Dr. Salinas lowered her voice.
“It was a genetic compatibility panel.”
Laura felt a chill.
“Compatibility with whom?”
“I don't know.”
“Can you find out?”
“I've been trying.”
“And?”
“The test request was submitted by a third party.”
“Who?”
Dr. Salinas paused.
Then:
“Paola Mendoza.”
Laura closed her eyes.
Everything was becoming darker.
That night, Laura confronted Diego.
He was waiting outside the house.
She stopped several feet away.
“Why were you tested before your vasectomy?”
He looked confused.
“What?”
“A semen analysis.”
“I don't know.”
“Genetic compatibility testing.”
His expression changed.
“Who told you that?”
“Answer me.”
“I don't know what you're talking about.”
“Paola ordered the test.”
He went silent.
Laura watched him.
“You knew.”
“No.”
“You knew.”
“I swear I didn't.”
“Then why did she have access to your medical records?”
He looked away.
“Diego.”
He finally whispered:
“I asked her to help.”
Laura's heart sank.
“With what?”
“The paperwork.”
“The vasectomy?”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
He hesitated.
“Because I didn't want you to know.”
Laura stared.
“Know what?”
“I was scared.”
“Of what?”
“My mother.”
Laura's expression hardened.
“What did she threaten you with?”
Diego looked at her.
“She said if I didn't get the procedure, she'd cut me out of the family business.”
Laura blinked.
“That was it?”
“No.”
He looked away.
“She said she'd make sure you never got anything either.”
Laura felt her anger rise.
“So you chose her.”
“I thought I was protecting us.”
“You accused me of cheating.”
“I panicked.”
“You moved into Paola's apartment.”
“I was angry.”
“You filed for divorce.”
He said nothing.
“And you hired a lawyer before you even knew I was pregnant.”
Diego looked at her sharply.
“How do you know that?”
“Because I have the paperwork.”
His face changed.
“Laura…”
“You knew something was coming.”
“No.”
“Then why was the divorce petition prepared three days before I told you?”
Diego couldn't answer.
Laura stepped closer.
“Who told you to prepare it?”
He shook his head.
“I can't.”
“You can.”
“No.”
“Diego.”
He looked terrified.
“My mother.”
Laura felt the final piece slide into place.
“Why?”
He whispered:
“She knew you were pregnant.”
Laura stared at him.
“When?”
“Before you did.”
Silence.
“How?”
Diego's eyes filled with fear.
“I don't know.”
Laura's voice became barely audible.
“Who told her?”
“I don't know.”
“Then find out.”
She turned to leave.
“Laura.”
She stopped.
He looked at her.
“There is something else.”
She waited.
“The day before you took the pregnancy test…”
His voice shook.
“My mother came to see me.”
“What did she say?”
“She asked whether you had been feeling sick.”
Laura's heart stopped.
“Why would she ask that?”
Diego looked at her.
“Because she said…”
He swallowed.
“She said the pregnancy had happened exactly when she expected it to.”
Laura froze.
“What?”
Diego stepped forward.
“She knew.”
“How?”
“I don't know.”
“Diego.”
“I swear.”
Laura looked at him.
For the first time, she believed he was genuinely afraid.
But that didn't make him innocent.
It only meant someone had been controlling him too.
She walked away.
Behind her, Diego whispered:
“Laura.”
She didn't turn.
“Please.”
She kept walking.
Because she had spent eight years believing her husband was the person she could trust.
Now she knew better.
At 11:36 p.m., Laura received another message.
No photograph this time.
Just one sentence.
THE TEST WASN'T FOR DIEGO.
She stared at the screen.
Another message arrived.
IT WAS FOR THE BABY.
Then:
ASK WHO PAID FOR IT.
Laura's heart hammered.
She immediately called Dr. Salinas.
“Doctor.”
“Yes?”
“I need you to trace the genetic test.”
“Why?”
“Because someone tested Diego before the vasectomy.”
There was silence.
Then Dr. Salinas asked:
“Are you sure?”
“Yes.”
“What exactly did you find?”
Laura told her.
The doctor became quiet.
Finally she said:
“Laura, I need you to listen carefully.”
“What?”
“I found the billing record.”
“Who paid?”
“The payment didn't come from Diego.”
Laura's fingers tightened around the phone.
“Then who?”
Dr. Salinas took a breath.
“The payment came from a private trust.”
“What trust?”
“I don't know yet.”
“Can you find out?”
“Yes.”
“Please.”
Another silence.
Then Dr. Salinas said something that made Laura's blood run cold.
“Laura…”
“Yes?”
“The trust has a beneficiary.”
“Who?”
Dr. Salinas whispered the name.
Paola Mendoza.
Laura closed her eyes.
The woman Diego had left her for.
The woman who had scheduled his vasectomy.
The woman who had accessed his medical records eleven times.
The woman who had ordered the genetic test.
And now—
the woman who had apparently been financially connected to a secret trust investigating Laura's unborn child.
Laura slowly lowered the phone.
She looked at the ultrasound photograph sitting on her bedside table.
Her baby.
Tiny.
Perfect.
Completely innocent.
And suddenly, Laura understood the most frightening possibility of all.
Maybe Diego's vasectomy had never been intended to prevent a pregnancy.
Maybe it had been intended to create a record.
A record that would allow someone to accuse her when the pregnancy happened.
A record that would make her look guilty.
A record that would give them an excuse to take everything from her.
Her marriage.
Her house.
Her reputation.
And possibly—
her baby.
Laura's phone vibrated one final time.
A new message appeared.
YOU HAVE 48 HOURS.
Then another:
FIND THE ORIGINAL SURGERY RECORD BEFORE THEY DO.
Laura stared at the words.
The countdown had begun.
And somewhere inside Westbrook Men's Health, someone was already trying to erase the one document that could prove exactly what had happened in that operating room.
May you like
The missing semen test was only the beginning.
The real secret was buried inside the original vasectomy record.
