He tapped Samuel on the shoulder, leaning in to whisper something in his ear.

Samuel’s brow furrowed, his eyes darting from Julian to the defense table where Margaret was being led away.

“Your Honor,” Samuel said, his voice rising to stop the court from adjourning.

“We have a developing situation regarding the clinic’s physical vault.”

The judge paused, her pen hovering over the final signature page.

“What is it, Mr. Greene?” she asked.

Julian stepped forward, holding his phone out so the screen was visible to the bench.

“The off-site backup server didn’t just contain patient logs,” Julian said, his voice echoing.

“It contained the live security feed from the Westbridge basement vault.”

“My father’s old private office.”

Margaret stopped struggling against the trooper’s grip, her eyes widening as she stared at Julian’s phone.

“The feed is active right now,” Julian said.

“And someone is currently inside the vault, removing the physical genetic samples.”

The courtroom went cold, the silence returning heavier than before.

I looked at the screen from my seat, seeing the grainy black-and-white video of a dark room.