Chapter 5 - The DNA Test and the Traitor's MaskThe private medical wing of St. Jude’s Hospital was locked down tighter than a military bunker. Outside the VIP suite, six armed operatives from Sterling Black Ops stood guard, ensuring that not even a stray fly entered the hallway.
Inside the sterile, white-walled room, Dr. Harrison stood holding a thick, official manila folder embossed with the gold seal of the National DNA Registry and Forensic Genetics Institute.
Eleanor sat in a leather armchair beside the bed, holding Maya’s hand. Neither of them spoke. The tension in the room was thick enough to cut with a knife.
"Well, Doctor?" Eleanor finally asked, her voice uncharacteristically brittle. "Is there any doubt left?"
Dr. Harrison opened the folder, pulling out the final, certified multi-page laboratory report. A slow, relieved smile spread across his tired face.
"None whatsoever, Mrs. Vance," Dr. Harrison said, handing the document to Eleanor. "The mitochondrial DNA match between you, your late daughter Claire, and Maya is ninety-nine point nine-nine percent. Furthermore, dental records obtained from her childhood medical files in the northern town confirm her true identity beyond any shadow of a doubt. She is your blood. She is Claire’s daughter."
Maya let out a long, shuddering breath, a sob of pure relief escaping her lips. She threw her arms around Eleanor’s neck, burying her face in the older woman’s shoulder. For the first time in twenty years, Maya finally felt safe. She felt like she belonged somewhere.
"I told you from the moment I saw that necklace, my heart knew," Eleanor whispered, wrapping her frail arms tightly around her granddaughter, kissing the top of her head. "I am so sorry I couldn't protect you back then, my sweet Lily. But I promise you, no one will ever hurt you again."
While the two women shared their long-awaited, emotional reunion, Julian Sterling stood outside in the hallway, staring down at his encrypted tablet. A red alert was flashing on the screen.
"Sir," his second-in-command, a sharp-eyed tech specialist named Sarah, whispered urgently through the comms link. "We just intercepted an encrypted transmission originating from inside the maximum-security holding cells at the precinct where Marcus Vance is being held."
Julian’s eyes narrowed. "Trace it. Who was the recipient?"
"That’s the thing, Boss," Sarah replied nervously. "It wasn't sent to an outside criminal. It was sent to someone inside Vance Global. Someone currently sitting on the board. The message was short: 'The girl survived. Execute Protocol Omega.' And Boss... the signal didn't come from Marcus’s cell."
Julian’s heart skipped a beat. Protocol Omega. That was Vance Global’s internal contingency code for a hostile corporate takeover backed by total asset liquidation and physical elimination of the executive board.
"Who sent it, Sarah?" Julian demanded, his boots clicking sharply against the sterile hospital floor as he started walking toward the elevator.
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"The IP address points directly to Robert Sterling’s private terminal in the fifty-fifth-floor boardroom!"
Julian cursed under his breath. Robert wasn't just a corrupt executive; he was the mastermind behind the entire shadow syndicate within Vance Global. And right now, back at the corporate headquarters, Eleanor and Maya were walking straight into his trap.
