Ray's father passed away early, and his mother, Linda, remarried Paul Davis. She won Paul's affection, and he changed Ray's last name to Davis, treating him like his own son.
Although they were not blood-related, Ray and Martin had an unexpectedly good relationship.
A car accident a few years ago turned Paul into a vegetative state, and he had been in a coma for four years.
He had made a will stating that his assets would be distributed according to the number of family members.
So, after Ray and I got married, Linda urged us to have a child, saying it was to continue the Davis family line and pray for the comatose Paul.
But I knew deep down that she just wanted to claim more of the inheritance.
I think Martin was also aware of this.
After two years of trying to conceive without success, Linda began to complain about me behind my back, calling me a defective woman who couldn't bear children.
So, we went to the hospital for a thorough check-up.
Surprisingly, the problem wasn't me; it was Ray.
He had a congenital sperm deficiency, making natural conception nearly impossible.
Eager to have a grandchild, Linda started believing in all sorts of folk remedies, forcing us to drink dark, gloopy concoctions every day, making life miserable for both Ray and me.
As a doctor, Martin couldn't bear to see such foolishness and sincerely suggested,
"Ray, if you and Victoria trust me, come to our hospital for in-vitro fertilization. I'm in charge of that department. It's better than drinking these messy potions!"
Linda didn't trust Martin and wanted to stop us, but she couldn't waver Ray's trust in his brother.
Martin was very dedicated to our IVF process.
Unfortunately, the first three attempts to cultivate the embryos ended in failure.
Linda began to stir up trouble, suspecting that Martin was sabotaging our efforts, not wanting us to have a child who could compete with him for the family inheritance.
Ray and I didn't take her suspicions seriously.
After all, Martin was Paul's biological son. It was only natural that he should inherit everything from the Davis family.
Moreover, Martin helped us without any reservations. We couldn't be ungrateful or greedy.
During the fourth attempt, Martin mentioned that Ray's sperm quality had deteriorated further, almost to the point of being azoospermia.
We didn't dare to hope.
Surprisingly, I became pregnant, with one out of two embryos surviving.