Chapter 2 - The Stolen Identity
Mark frowned, leaning back against the pillows, his brow furrowed in anger and confusion. "What are you talking about? It's your license. It has your name, your date of birth, your old address. Don't try to play games with me, Emily. The lab used this ID to verify the mother's identity when the swab samples were collected."
Emily didn't yell. She didn't cry. Instead, she turned her fierce, piercing gaze away from Mark and fixed it directly on Margaret Vance, Mark’s mother, who had been sitting quietly in the corner armchair knitting a baby blanket, watching the drama unfold with a carefully masked expression of concern.
Emily lifted the paper, pointing a trembling finger at the faded photograph on the attached ID copy. "That license was stolen from our house two years ago, Mark. Right after we moved into the suburban home."
Margaret’s hands froze over her knitting needles. Her lips parted, a faint, breathless gasp escaping her throat before she quickly caught herself, forcing her features back into a mask of offended dignity.
Mark looked between his wife and his mother, his confusion deepening. "Stolen? What do you mean stolen, Em? You told me you lost your wallet at the grocery store back when we were dating."
"I thought I lost it," Emily said, never breaking eye contact with Margaret. "I tore the car apart, retraced my steps, and filed for a replacement the very next day. But weeks later, when I was cleaning out the attic boxes we brought from my old apartment, I found my wallet tucked deep inside a box I hadn't even opened—and my old driver’s license was missing from the sleeve. Everything else was there. Cash, credit cards, membership cards. Only that specific license was gone."
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Margaret stood up smoothing her skirt, her voice trembling slightly with feigned outrage. "Are you accusing me of stealing your wallet, Emily? That is absurd! Why would I steal your driver’s license? What kind of postpartum paranoia are you suffering from?"
Emily lifted the testing page higher, letting the fluorescent light catch the official seal. "You didn't just steal it, Margaret. You used my stolen ID to secretly order this independent paternity test behind our backs."
