Chapter 5 - The Ghost in the Petri Dish
The words hung in the air like a physical blow. Maya stumbled backward, her hip hitting the corner of the heavy dining table. The wine glass rattled against the plate, spilling a dark crimson puddle across the white tablecloth, looking chillingly like fresh blood.
"My father's... what?" Maya whispered, the room tilting violently around her. "Our dad died five years ago. His stroke was massive. There was nothing left."
Julian Vance stepped closer, sliding the medical addendum forward. "Medical science has advanced significantly over the past decade, Ms. Reynolds. Your father established a private, high-security cryopreservation account before his passing. It was heavily encrypted, buried deep within a medical trust that none of you knew existed. Until the bank auditors traced the missing funds to a shell company funded by an anonymous donor."
Nia bowed her head once more, her shoulders shaking uncontrollably. "I found the paperwork in Dad’s old desk when we were clearing out the study after the funeral," she confessed, her voice muffled and broken. "I didn't understand it at first. But when the foreclosure notices started piling up last month... a representative from the clinic contacted me. They told me they had an active deposit and a wealthy buyer willing to pay off every single debt our family owed, if we agreed to implant the genetic material."
Marcus reached out, his hand trembling as he touched Nia’s arm, but she violently shook him off. "You didn't have to do it, Nia," Marcus whispered.
"I didn't have to?" Nia snapped, turning on him with sudden, blinding fury. "You lost the house, Marcus! You blew our life savings on bad investments! If I didn't say yes, Mom would have been living out of her car by winter!"
Evelyn closed her eyes, tears streaming down her weathered cheeks. "It was my husband's seed," the older woman murmured, her voice laced with a haunting, tragic reverence. "When Julian told me... I couldn't stop it. Part of me felt like he was coming back to us."
Maya stared at her family in sheer horror, realizing she was surrounded by strangers. "You traded my father's genetic legacy to pay off credit card debt and mortgage arrears? Do you even hear yourselves? Who is the buyer, Julian? Who bought my father?"
May you like
Julian Vance slowly slid his business card across the table. Etched in silver on matte black cardstock was a name that made Maya’s blood run instantly cold.
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