Chapter 5 - THE 36-HOUR CLOCK
At seven the next morning, I called my attorney.
Sarah Klein arrived before eight.
She read the DNA report first.
Then Daniel’s grandfather’s trust documents.
Then the old declaration Daniel had signed.
Her expression became colder with every page.
“We can stop Monday.”
I looked at her.
“How?”
“Emergency injunction.”
“Will the new DNA report be enough?”
“To stop permanent assignment while we investigate, probably.”
“Probably?”
She nodded toward the document.
“The larger issue is fraud.”
I understood.
If Margaret knowingly used false genetic evidence, this was not merely a family dispute.
Sarah requested the original laboratory report.
Daniel called Margaret.
She refused.
Then she claimed it had been destroyed.
Sarah smiled when she heard that.
“Good.”
I frowned.
“Good?”
“People who destroy documents usually forget that laboratories keep records.”
We contacted the lab listed on the old report.
No record of Lily existed.
No record of Daniel.
No report number matching the document.
Nothing.
The lab director examined the copy.
“This formatting isn’t ours.”
He said.
By noon, we had a written declaration.
The first DNA test was fake.
Completely fake.
I read the statement twice.
Daniel sat across the conference table.
His face looked gray.
“My mother made it.”
Sarah corrected him.
“Someone made it.”
Daniel nodded.
“She made it.”
I looked at him.
“You defended that report for two years.”
“I never defended it.”
I stared.
“You let it decide how your daughter was treated.”
He flinched.
“You let your mother tell Lily she didn’t belong.”
“I know.”
“Stop saying you know.”
My voice broke.
“You keep using those words as though awareness now changes what happened then.”
He lowered his eyes.
Sarah interrupted gently.
“We need to focus on Monday.”
I nodded.
She drafted the emergency petition.
At 2:14 P.M., it was filed.
At 3:06, a judge issued a temporary freeze on the trust shares.
At 3:20, Margaret called me.
I answered.
Her voice came immediately.
“You vindictive little liar.”
I almost smiled.
“Hello, Margaret.”
“You have no idea what you’ve done.”
“I protected my daughter.”
“You’ve frozen Noah’s inheritance.”
“No.”
“I froze Lily’s stolen inheritance.”
Silence.
Then Margaret said.
“You think that report proves anything?”
“Yes.”
“You have no idea where Daniel’s sample came from.”
My skin went cold.
“What?”
She laughed softly.
“Ask your husband why he was so willing to believe me.”
The line went dead.
Daniel was standing ten feet away.
He had heard enough.
“What is she talking about?”
I asked.
His face changed.
“Daniel.”
He stared at the floor.
May you like
“There’s something I never told you about before Lily was born.”
And suddenly the DNA report was not the only secret inside my marriage.
