Chapter 26 – The DNA Threat
Sharon sat in the dimly lit corner of the Zurich safehouse, her hands trembling slightly over the laptop.
An encrypted email had arrived just hours earlier:
Submit a DNA sample immediately. Any delay or refusal will be treated as fraudulent impersonation. You have 24 hours.
The sender's identity was masked, the IP traces untraceable.
Sharon's pulse raced. This was no ordinary threat.
A DNA test.
In the world she had stepped into, the demand was simple: prove she was Georgia Laurent. Or die.
Her mind reeled. The Lazarus Protocol. The offshore accounts. The forged signatures. The family secrets. Every secret she had uncovered - every lead she had pursued - could now be wiped out if she failed this one test.
And if she refused?
The consequences were unthinkable.
Sharon leaned back, trying to calm herself. She thought of James Barnett, who had tightened the leash earlier. She thought of the missing attorney, Michael Grayson, found dead in the harbor. She thought of Isabelle Laurent, erased from records.
Every action in Georgia Laurent's life was calculated, controlled, monitored.
Now, her very DNA had become the leverage point.
She realized the implications:
• Submit a real sample - risk exposure if the wrong people intercepted it.
• Submit a falsified sample - a gamble, but one that could buy her time.
• Refuse - and almost certainly face death.
Every option was a trap.
And the clock was ticking.
Sharon moved quickly. She needed a solution that balanced survival, deception, and control.
She called an old contact from her acting days - someone skilled in forensics and willing to work in the shadows.
After tense negotiations, she secured a laboratory willing to create a synthetic DNA sample that would replicate Georgia Laurent's profile accurately enough to fool any routine verification - but without revealing Sharon's real identity.
Her hands shook as she provided the "sample" to the courier. Every second felt like an eternity. Every noise outside the safehouse triggered a wave of panic.
Finally, the courier disappeared into the night, carrying her fabricated proof of identity.
Sharon exhaled slowly, but relief was temporary.
Because someone, somewhere, had noticed the transaction.
And in the world of Georgia Laurent, survival wasn't about honesty.
It was about staying one step ahead of death.
Sharon realized that even if she passed this test, nothing guaranteed her safety.
The Lazarus Protocol was still out there. Isabelle Laurent's existence could still topple the empire.
And the network watching her would never rest.
She was no longer just impersonating Georgia Laurent.
She was living her life on borrowed DNA - and every breath could be her last.
