The careful smile, the casual folder, the warm soup — all of it dropped away.
What was left underneath was just a woman who had wanted something so badly she had stopped being able to see what she was doing to get it.
I almost felt sorry for her.
Almost.
“What happens now?” she whispered.
“Now,” I said, “we do this the right way.”
I didn’t go home after lunch.
I sat in Penelope’s kitchen for another two hours while Joel came inside and Diane joined us by phone.
Marcus made coffee.
Renata stayed at the table without being asked, and nobody told her to leave.
It was Diane who spoke first, after the introductions.
“Penelope, I want to be direct with you.
The altered surrogacy agreement that was filed with the family court registry constitutes fr@ud on the court.
That is a serious legal exposure for you and potentially for Marcus.
