Chapter 4 - The Sealed Archive
"Is there a problem here, folks?" the older officer asked, his eyes darting between Julian's raised voice and Clara clutching the infant on the hospital bed.
Victoria recovered instantly. She straightened her posture, shaking Julian's grip from her wrists with practiced poise. "No officer, merely a private family dispute over medical privacy. We were just leaving."
"No, don't let her leave," Clara said, addressing the officers directly. "She just destroyed evidence related to a disputed paternity and medical fraud case. I want her removed from my room."
The older officer turned to Victoria. "Ma'am, you need to step out into the hallway. The patient has the right to decide who remains in this room."
Victoria shot Clara a look of pure venom. "You think you've won something here, Clara. You haven't. You have no idea what door you've just kicked open. You have signed your own ruin." She turned on her heel and strode past the officers, her heels clicking aggressively down the tiled hallway.
Julian stood frozen in the middle of the room, looking down at the torn half of the cream envelope remaining in his fingers. The code 1994-08 stared back at him.
"Julian," Clara said softly, exhaustion threatening to pull her under. "You need to look at Maya. Really look at her."
Julian hesitated. Slowly, he walked to the bedside, his shoulders trembling. He looked down at the tiny baby girl in Clara’s arms. Maya had a dusting of dark hair, but her eyes—unfocused and blinking at the light—carried a distinct hazel-gold ring around the iris.
Julian reached up, touching his own dark brown eyes. "She doesn't have my eyes. Nor yours."
"She has the eyes of a man who died thirty years ago," Clara said, leaning back against the pillows. "Or a man Victoria thought was dead. Because the technician who leaked this code to me... she recognized the signature on the original Vance fertility agreement."
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Julian frowned. "Whose signature?"
"Your father's brother," Clara said. "The uncle you were told died before you were born."
