A Caged Songbird's Escape: Into the Arms of a Predator novel Chapter 535

It was a question Laurel had been turning over in her mind for days. She had even consulted Lawrence Quinn about it.

His explanation was textbook: there was always a fractional margin of error in genetic testing.

But there was a far more sinister possibility. The sample itself was authentic.

Which meant Maya and Marcia knew exactly who the real Vera was, had secretly harvested her DNA, and bribed someone inside the lab to swap the samples.

Lawrence had personally delivered the vials to the facility. Who else had the access to tamper with them?

Laurel didn't have the energy to dwell on Lawrence's suspiciously close relationship with his secretary, Helena. She certainly wasn't going to waste her breath arguing about the morals of a secretary with a man she was about to finalize a divorce with.

Glancing at her watch, she realized she was already late for a meeting. She didn't have time to spell it all out for Jesse. "Figure it out yourself," she said dismissively.

With a tap of her screen, she ended the call and strode purposefully into the conference room.

But right before she crossed the threshold, she stopped dead in her tracks. She pulled her phone back out and dialed another number.

"Mr. Halloway, are you at the manor? Good. I need you to quietly pull the security feeds from the night of my grandfather's eightieth birthday gala."

"Yes, starting from the exact moment Lawrence Quinn arrived to collect the DNA samples. Copy every single camera angle on the first floor and send them to my secure email."

That was it.

The swap didn't necessarily happen at the lab.

It could have happened right under their noses.

***

Elissa sat in gridlock traffic during the evening rush hour, but not even the endless sea of brake lights could dampen her radiant mood.

It was wonderful.

She wouldn't be a stain on Rowan's life. It was absolutely wonderful.

While waiting at a red light, she gently rested a hand over her slightly rounded belly, her eyes softening.

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