Yes, Claire snapped. And with that response, it seemed that her mind and her face had finally decided on a single emotion: anger. Yes…I personally have never had any interest in having children. I work with them and thats enough for me. Most of them are quite pleasant, I guess…but some are fucking nightmares. And yes, the bad apples are enough to spoil the whole bunch for me. But at the same time, I know there are women out there that want to have kids but cant. So I figured I could help in that regard. I decided to donate my eggs. Honestly, the financial gain was the biggest reason but…

She sneered here, as if she might be a little upset with herself. For some reason, I started thinking of women using my eggs…a part of my body…it made me mad and it made me wonder. It made me think…maybe I would want kids at some point.

She started shaking her head here and there was a certain way her eyes trailed back and forth, the way little smiles started to form at the corners of her mouth and then disappeared, that made Rachel wonder if there was some sort of legitimate mental break that had occurred. Not too long ago, shed read a case study about how sometimes people that donated things like kidneys would start to feel almost incomplete and even regret their decision to donate. It made her wonder if that was exactly what happened here, only on a much grander scale.

Oh, but it just wasnt happening for me, Claire went on. I reconnected with a man I almost married and tried to get pregnant. When it didnt work, I ended things with him and tried someone else. I even went out of the state to see if I could be artificially inseminated and that didnt work.

She slammed her hand down hard on the table as she spoke these last three words. Then she looked to Rachel and Jack with a stubborn, defiant look in her eye. It was almost as if she was daring them to ask her more questions.

You used a Facebook group, didnt you? Rachel asked.

Surprise flickered in Claires eyes at that and then a dulled sort of acceptance. I did. And it worked. All these stupid women just broadcasting what they had planned. Asking for prayer and positive thoughts.

Claire had not yet asked for a lawyer and the more she spoke, the easier it seemed to come to her. She had either accepted her fate and did not care or had no real idea of the severity of her crimes.

Ms. Allen, Rachel said. You know what this means, right? Now that youre here and have told us all of this. You know what