CHAPTER 9 — THE LIE INSIDE THE DNA REPORT
No one spoke.
The old railway station seemed to hold its breath.
Claire's eyes remained fixed on the burned DNA report lying on the table.
Biological Father Confirmed... A.V.
The initials echoed in her mind.
Adrian Valen.
The man responsible for decades of murder.
The man who had hunted her family.
The man who had ordered Richard Bennett's death.
Her father?
"No..."
Claire whispered.
"No."
She pushed the report away as though it could burn her.
"That's impossible."
Samuel Voss didn't answer.
His weathered hands trembled as he picked up the document again.
For nearly a minute, he examined every corner of the paper without saying a word.
Marcus Hale finally broke the silence.
"What are you seeing?"
Samuel pointed to the lower right corner.
"The watermark."
Marcus leaned closer.
"It's from the National Genetics Laboratory."
"So?"
Samuel shook his head.
"They never used this watermark."
"What?"
"Not twenty-three years ago."
Ethan frowned.
"You mean..."
Samuel nodded.
"This report is a forgery."
The room fell silent again.
Claire looked up.
"You can prove it?"
Samuel walked toward an old filing cabinet in the corner of the station.
After unlocking three separate compartments, he removed a thick leather binder.
Dust covered its surface.
He carefully opened it.
Inside were dozens of authentic laboratory reports from the same period.
He laid one beside the burned document.
"Look carefully."
Marcus immediately noticed the differences.
Different watermark.
Different government seal.
Different paper fibers.
Even the typewriter font wasn't the same.
"This report was created years later," Marcus said quietly.
Samuel nodded.
"Someone wanted us to believe Adrian Valen was Claire's biological father."
Claire felt the weight crushing her chest ease—for only a moment.
"Then who changed it?"
Samuel answered without hesitation.
"The same person who erased your original identity."
Miles away...
Inside Valen's private estate...
Victor Lang entered the study carrying a tablet.
"They found the fake report."
Adrian Valen remained seated before the fireplace.
He smiled without surprise.
"I knew Samuel would."
Victor looked confused.
"Then why plant it?"
Valen slowly stood and walked toward the massive window overlooking the sea.
"Because lies are useful."
"Even when they're exposed?"
"Especially then."
Victor frowned.
"I don't understand."
Valen looked toward the storm gathering over the ocean.
"Now Claire knows someone altered her records."
"She'll spend every waking hour searching for the original."
"And when she finds it..."
Victor's eyes widened.
"...she'll lead us to the archive."
Valen smiled.
"Exactly."
Back at the railway station...
Claire sat alone in silence.
Everything she had believed over the past twenty-four hours had collapsed.
Richard Bennett wasn't her biological father.
Victoria Voss wasn't her biological mother.
The DNA report was fake.
Even Project Phoenix had become more complicated than anyone imagined.
She suddenly looked at Samuel.
"Richard knew."
Samuel nodded slowly.
"He knew almost everything."
"Then why didn't he tell me?"
Samuel sighed deeply.
"Because he made me a promise."
"What promise?"
"If he died..."
Samuel's voice grew softer.
"...I was never to tell you the truth unless you chose to search for it yourself."
Claire lowered her head.
"He wanted me to have a normal life."
"He wanted you to have a chance."
Marcus spread dozens of files across the table.
"There has to be a pattern."
Ethan joined him.
"Every forged document..."
"...every missing child..."
"...every murder..."
Marcus stopped suddenly.
"What?"
He picked up Richard Bennett's ledger.
Each page listed payments.
Dates.
Names.
Companies.
Then he noticed something.
"These aren't random."
Samuel walked over.
Marcus pointed at the dates.
"They repeat."
Every seven years.
Without exception.
The same group of companies exchanged enormous sums of money.
The same judges signed sealed adoption orders.
The same hospitals transferred classified records.
Every seven years.
Samuel's face darkened.
"The Council."
Claire looked up.
"What council?"
Samuel closed the ledger.
"Twelve families."
"The richest families in the country."
"They secretly met every seven years."
Marcus frowned.
"For what?"
Samuel answered quietly.
"To choose who controlled the empire."
Ethan's expression changed.
"My family..."
Samuel nodded.
"The Ashfords held one seat."
"The Valens held another."
"The Voss family held the third."
"There were nine others."
"And Project Phoenix?"
Samuel looked directly at Claire.
"It financed them all."
That evening...
Detective Hale received a secure call from police headquarters.
His expression grew increasingly tense.
"What?"
He stood abruptly.
"When?"
He ended the call.
Everyone looked at him.
"What happened?"
Hale took a slow breath.
"Someone broke into evidence storage."
"What was stolen?"
"The surveillance footage from the gala."
Claire frowned.
"I thought you had copies."
"We did."
"What about them?"
"They're gone too."
Samuel looked toward the ceiling.
"They're cleaning the board."
Marcus nodded.
"But they missed something."
He removed his own phone.
"The maintenance camera."
"I copied it before submitting it."
He pressed play.
The footage showed the disguised technician entering the electrical room.
Marcus froze the image.
"Zoom."
The tattoo became clearer.
Not just a serpent.
Behind it...
A tiny crown.
Samuel's eyes widened.
"No..."
"What is it?"
"That's not a Viper Syndicate tattoo."
Marcus looked again.
"What is it?"
Samuel whispered one name.
"The Crown Guard."
Ethan frowned.
"I've never heard of them."
"You were never supposed to."
"They're the Council's private army."
Claire suddenly remembered something Richard had once said.
As a little girl, she had asked why he always locked every door before bedtime.
He had smiled sadly and replied,
"Some people wear uniforms to protect the law."
"Others wear uniforms to protect those who own the law."
At the time...
She hadn't understood.
Now...
She did.
Just before midnight...
The emergency radio inside the station crackled to life.
A frightened voice came through the speaker.
"Detective Hale!"
Marcus grabbed the microphone.
"This is Hale."
The dispatcher sounded panicked.
"We found another survivor."
"Who?"
"A former nurse from Project Phoenix."
Samuel's eyes widened.
"Is she alive?"
"For now."
"Where is she?"
"St. Anne's Convent."
"She insists she'll only speak to..."
The dispatcher paused.
"...Claire Bennett."
Claire looked up.
"Why me?"
The answer came quietly.
"She says..."
"...she was the one who carried you out of the hospital twenty-three years ago."
Samuel's breathing stopped.
"No..."
Marcus frowned.
"What?"
Samuel slowly shook his head.
"That's impossible."
"Why?"
"Because the woman who carried Claire away..."
His voice became almost a whisper.
"...was reported dead the same night."
At that exact moment...
Far away inside a secluded mountain convent...
An elderly nun sat alone beside a candle.
Her hands were badly scarred.
Age had weakened her body.
But not her memory.
She opened an old wooden box hidden beneath her bed.
Inside rested a tiny silver baby bracelet.
Engraved on its surface were two words.
Claire Voss.
Tears filled the nun's eyes.
"I kept my promise..."
she whispered.
A sudden knock echoed through her room.
Three slow knocks.
Then silence.
The elderly nun's smile disappeared.
She already knew who was standing outside.
The candle flickered violently.
A shadow appeared beneath the door.
Then a calm, familiar voice spoke.
"Sister Margaret..."
It was Adrian Valen.
May you like
"I've come for what's mine."
The doorknob slowly began to turn.
