The courier arrived at 9 a.m., just as Lin Anran was settling into her workspace. A crisp envelope, stamped with no return address and sealed with a crimson wax crest. The two suited guards lingered by the door, their mirrored sunglasses hiding any recognition of her rising unease.
She broke the seal and withdrew three items: a color‑printed DNA report; a small card with facility security‑camera stills; and a glossy photograph of her own unbandaged face—pre‑scar—smiling into a maternity‑hospital camera's flash.
Her breath caught. The report lay atop the others:
> **Father: Gu Jinci**
> **Child: Su Jian'an**
> **Relationship: No biological relation detected**
She flipped to the back. No laboratory accreditation logos, only the signature of “Dr. Hartley, Pacific BioLabs."
Anr
