The word echoed long after Lucas said it.
Interference.
It didn’t belong in a conversation about a child.
Elena felt it sink into her chest like ice.
“What kind of interference?” she asked, her voice quieter now—but far more dangerous.
Lucas didn’t rush. “The markers aren’t random errors. They look… adjusted. As if something altered the original genetic pattern.”
Adrian’s expression darkened. “That’s not a mistake. That’s intent.”
Silence swallowed the boardroom.
All eyes shifted—slowly, inevitably—to Victor.
---
Victor didn’t flinch.
He stood at the head of the table, composed as ever, as though this moment had always been part of the plan.
“You’re making serious accusations,” one board member said cautiously.
Elena didn’t look away from Victor. “Am I?”
Her voice sharpened.
