Page 119 of Destiny

“Fine. What’s the name again? Of the corporation?”

Ryan finally unclenches his fists around Franklin’s collar. “The Fleming Corporation.”

The doctor walks to a file cabinet. He opens it and pulls out a folder from the back. “Here’s the information.” He opens the folder, pauses. “And yes, we have the specimens.”

Ryan takes the folder while I still stand by the door.

“We’re going to need a copy of all this,” Ryan says.

“There’s no copy machine in here.”

“No worries.” Ryan pulls out his phone and begins taking pictures of all the documents while I’m still standing against the door.

“Ryan…”

“They’re here, Brendan. Samples from my father, from your great-uncle, from Tom, Theo, and Larry, along with others. Rodney Cates. Ennis Ainsley. Damn.”

“Who’s that?”

“He was the first Steel winemaker. He taught me everything I know.”

“The name does sound familiar.”

“Brock and Rory went to visit him in London.” Ryan looks back at the file. “Frozen eggs, too. Wendy’s.”

“Are there any frozen embryos?” I ask.

“No. Doesn’t look that way.” Ryan sighs. “Thank God.”

“That would’ve been a pretty advanced technology back then,” I say. “In vitro fertilization was a thing, but freezing embryos for later use? That was pretty new.”

“It’s actually been part of our technology for longer than you think,” Dr. Franklin says.

Ryan glances at the doctor, his eyes narrowed. “Is there anything you’re not showing me? Are there any frozen embryos that we don’t know about?”

“No. This storage is just for sperm and ova.”

I take a slow step toward Dr. Franklin. “And where are these sperm and ova?”

“It looks like they’re in one of our units at the lab where we rent space.”

“What would it take to destroy them?” Ryan asks.

Dr. Franklin raises an eyebrow. “You sure you want to do that?”

Ryan rubs his chin. “This stuff is over a half century old. It can’t possibly be viable.”

“It is reaching its limits,” the doctor agrees. “But I’m afraid there’s nothing I can do about it unless the person who contracted our services asks.”

“We represent the Fleming Corporation,” Ryan says.

“You represent the Steel family,” Dr. Franklin says. “I’m not buying.”

Ryan stares him down. “Are you sure about that?”

“Listen,” Dr. Franklin says. “This is all before my time. Whoever contracted the clinic to store these samples paid for their storage indefinitely. They’re not hurting anything where they are, and they’re probably no longer viable anyway. You have the documents. You have the address where they’re stored. The cryo facility can’t release them unless we ask for them, which we won’t. We’d never use such old specimens.”

“And why, exactly, should we trust you?” Ryan asks.

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