The centrifuge in the back lab of the Sterling-Khan Clinic spun down to a halt. Maya Khan pulled out the small vial containing the DNA extracted from the coffee cup Julian had swiped from the library.
She loaded the sample into the sequencer, her hands steady despite the adrenaline. Julian stood behind her, pacing the small room.
“It shouldn’t take this long,” Julian muttered. “Unless the sample was contaminated.”
“The sample was perfect,” Maya said, her eyes glued to the monitor. “The machine is just double-checking the markers because the result is… statistically improbable.”
A chime sounded. The screen flashed green.
*MATCH PROBABILITY: 99.999%*
Maya froze. She clicked on the detailed analysis. “Julian, look at the alleles. They aren’t just similar. They are identical.”
“Identical?” Julian leaned in, reading the data. “But that would mean…”
“It means Malcolm Fotheringham isn’t William’s cousin,” Maya whispered, the realization hitting her like a physical blow. “He is his monozygotic twin. William has a brother.”,