Chapter 10 - The Name on the Medical File.
Nathan did not react the way Ashley wanted.
He did not look guilty.
He looked confused.
Then angry.
"What did you just say?"
Ashley held his gaze.
"You heard me."
Lauren remained very still.
Richard Grant turned toward his daughter.
"This was not part of the discussion."
Ashley ignored him.
"My obstetric file lists Nathan as the biological father."
Nathan gave a short, disbelieving laugh.
"That's impossible."
"Is it?"
"Yes."
Ashley looked toward Lauren.
"He would say that."
Lauren's heart was beating hard enough to hurt, but she refused to give Ashley the expression she was waiting for.
"Show me."
Ashley blinked.
"What?"
"The file."
"Lauren."
"You brought it up."
Ashley looked at Richard.
He said nothing.
Evelyn looked suddenly older.
Nathan stepped beside Lauren.
"There is no possibility that child is mine."
Lauren looked at him.
"I heard you."
He understood what she meant.
She was not accusing him.
She was refusing to let Ashley control the pace.
Ashley reached into her handbag and removed a folded document.
She placed it on the table.
A clinic logo appeared at the top.
PATERNITY SCREENING SUMMARY.
Nathan Mitchell was listed under Alleged Biological Father.
Lauren read the page carefully.
A probability figure appeared near the bottom.
99.7%.
Nathan stared at it.
"This is fake."
Ashley laughed softly.
"Of course."
"I never gave a sample."
"You didn't have to."
Nathan's expression sharpened.
"What does that mean?"
Ashley folded her arms.
"Your executive health program stores blood samples."
Nathan stopped breathing for a fraction of a second.
Lauren noticed.
Richard closed his eyes.
Evelyn whispered one word.
"Ashley."
Lauren looked from one face to another.
"Someone accessed Nathan's medical sample?"
Ashley smiled with no warmth.
"I'm saying the clinic had what it needed."
Nathan took out his phone.
Richard stepped forward.
"Do not call anyone until we discuss this."
Nathan looked at him.
"Move."
Richard did not.
Nathan's voice dropped.
"Move."
Richard stepped aside.
Nathan called the executive health service and asked for the medical director.
While he waited, Lauren photographed the paternity document.
Ashley watched her.
"You really think a picture will save you?"
Lauren looked up.
"No."
"Then why take it?"
"Because lies get nervous when you preserve them."
For the first time, Richard looked almost amused.
Ashley did not.
The medical director came on the line.
Nathan explained that he believed stored biological material may have been accessed without authorization.
The director's reaction was immediate.
"Mr. Mitchell, our samples cannot be released for outside paternity testing without written consent and a documented chain of custody."
Nathan looked directly at Ashley.
"Did I provide consent?"
"Not according to what I can see."
"Has any sample been released?"
"I need to audit the records before answering."
"Do it now."
"I will contact compliance immediately."
Nathan ended the call.
Ashley lifted her chin.
"Maybe you signed something and forgot."
"I didn't."
Lauren looked at the clinic name on Ashley's report.
"This test wasn't done by Nathan's health service."
"No."
"Then who gave the lab his sample?"
Ashley smiled faintly.
"Ask your husband."
Nathan's restraint finally cracked.
He swept the proxy agreement off the desk.
Papers scattered across the rug.
"Enough."
Ashley flinched.
Nathan pointed toward the door.
"You attacked Lauren, lied about it, used a family security system to spread an edited clip, and now you're producing a paternity report for a child I did not father."
"You can't prove I posted the clip."
"We can prove your old device accessed the account."
Ashley went silent.
Richard looked at her.
That was the first sign Lauren saw that he had not known everything his daughter had done.
Nathan continued.
"And if someone accessed my stored medical sample, I will find out who."
Evelyn stepped around the desk.
"Nathan, stop."
He turned on her.
"Why?"
"Because this is bigger than Ashley."
"Then explain it."
Evelyn looked at Richard.
Richard's face became hard.
"Not here."
Lauren laughed.
"We're in your house."
No one answered.
Lauren felt her phone vibrate in her pocket.
The recording continued.
A text had arrived.
She glanced at the screen.
Unknown number.
THE TEST IS FAKE.
A second message followed.
BUT THE SAMPLE THEFT IS REAL.
Lauren's skin prickled.
She typed one question under the table.
HOW DO YOU KNOW?
The answer came instantly.
BECAUSE I SAW WHO TOOK IT.
Lauren looked up.
Everyone in the library was arguing now.
Nathan demanded answers.
Richard demanded discretion.
Evelyn demanded time.
Ashley demanded to be believed.
Lauren stepped away from them and typed again.
WHO?
The unknown sender replied with a photograph.
It showed a man entering the executive health center at night using a staff entrance.
The image was grainy but recognizable.
Caleb Ross.
Lauren stared at it.
The estate manager.
The man they had assumed was secretly helping them.
Then the sender added one line.
CALEB ISN'T WORKING FOR EVELYN.
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