Chapter 7 - THE REVEALED IDENTITY
Marcus burst into the lab, firing two non-lethal rounds that struck the intruder in the shoulder. The technician collapsed onto the floor, dropping a steel case containing the stolen blood samples.
Julian yanked off the attacker's surgical mask, revealing the face of Dr. Harrison’s chief lab assistant. Julian grabbed him by the lapels, lifting him off the ground with terrifying rage.
"Who paid you to tamper with those DNA samples?" Julian demanded, his voice echoing through the alarm-filled floor. "Tell me now, or you will spend the rest of your life in a federal penitentiary!"
The assistant coughed blood, his eyes darting frantically toward the hallway where Victoria was standing behind the police line. "It was... Senator Sterling’s office! They offered me half a million dollars to swap her DNA with a random homeless woman's!"
Marcus secured the real backup blood vials from the sealed cryogenic unit, running them through a secondary, tamper-proof sequencer. Ten excruciating minutes passed before the digital screen flashed bright green.
MATERNAL MATCH CONFIRMED: 99.99% PROBABILITY.
SUBJECT NAME: EVELYN VANCE (NEÉ MONTGOMERY).
Julian stared at the screen, a heavy knot in his chest unravelling into pure, emotional devastation. He turned around to look at Sarah, who stood in the doorway with tears streaming down her pale face.
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"You really are my wife," Julian whispered, stepping toward her with open arms. "You came back to us, Evelyn."
Sarah closed her eyes as the final barrier in her mind shattered, flooding her consciousness with memories of their wedding in Newport, Lily’s birth, and the loving home they had shared before the nightmare began.
