CHAPTER 8 — The Woman in the Last Row
The hearing resumed the following morning.
By sunrise, every major news network in the country had arrived.
No one expected the trial to continue.
Everyone expected another delay.
Instead...
A quiet woman entered the courtroom before anyone else.
She wore inexpensive clothes.
No makeup.
Simple glasses.
She sat alone in the last row.
No one noticed her.
Except Iris.
Something about the woman's eyes felt strangely familiar.
The prosecutor called another witness.
Testimony continued for nearly an hour.
Then Marcus suddenly stopped.
He looked toward the back of the courtroom.
"Your Honor..."
"I request permission to call one additional witness."
The judge frowned.
"Who?"
Marcus smiled.
"The woman sitting in the last row."
Every head turned.
The woman looked startled.
She slowly stood.
"I think you've mistaken me for someone else."
Marcus shook his head.
"No."
"I've spent six months looking for you."
He handed the judge a sealed envelope.
Inside...
A DNA report.
The courtroom clerk read it aloud.
Probability of biological siblings: 99.99998%.
Iris couldn't breathe.
The woman covered her mouth.
Tears rolled silently down her face.
"My name..."
She whispered.
"...is Emily Carter."
Victor laughed.
"No."
"That was the name we gave you."
The woman looked at him in horror.
Victor's smile disappeared.
"Your real name..."
He paused.
"...is Lily Ashcroft."
For several seconds, neither sister moved.
Then Iris slowly walked across the courtroom.
She reached out.
Lily did the same.
The two women embraced without saying a word.
Reporters openly cried.
Even Judge Whitmore wiped away tears.
Julian watched in silence.
He finally understood.
The family he had spent years trying to destroy...
Had just become whole again.
But the reunion lasted only seconds.
Because a federal agent rushed into the courtroom.
"The evidence vault has been breached!"
Marcus spun around.
"What?"
"The original patent..."
The agent swallowed hard.
"...has been stolen."
Everyone froze.
Only one person smiled.
May you like
Victor Lang.
Exactly as he had planned.
