It was not a clinic document.
There was no clinic letterhead.
No registration number.
No legal firm name.
“Penelope,” I said.
“This wasn’t prepared by the clinic.”
A small pause.
“It was recommended by them.
Our coordinator suggested—”
“There’s no clinic name on it,” I said.
“No attorney signature.
No notarization requirement.”
Penelope’s spoon lowered slightly.
“It’s just a formality.
It doesn’t need all of that.”
“A document asking me to waive all future legal claims to this child doesn’t need an attorney?” I kept my voice even.
“That’s not how documents like this work.”
The color in Penelope’s face shifted.
Not much.
Just enough.
“You’re making this into something it isn’t,” she said.
“I’m trying to make the handover simple.
I thought you’d want that too.”
“I do want it to be simple,” I said.
“So let’s talk about why the surrogacy agreement on file at the family court registry is different from the one I signed.”
