Chapter 7
The front door opened again, and two uniformed federal agents in windbreakers marked FBI stepped into the foyer, accompanied by a female agent holding a stack of manila folders.
“Director Vance,” the lead agent said, giving Arthur a respectful nod. “The transport team is ready outside. The judge just signed the emergency protective orders and the federal arrest warrants for David Bennett and Margaret Bennett.”
“Very good, Agent Davis,” Arthur replied. “You have full custody of both suspects. Secure their electronic devices and place them under arrest.”
David’s head snapped up. “No! Wait! You can’t arrest me in my own home without my lawyer present!”
Agent Davis pulled a pair of steel handcuffs from his belt, stepping directly toward David. “David Bennett, you are under arrest for federal bank fraud, wire fraud, conspiracy, and felony aggravated domestic assault. You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law.”
As the cold steel snapped around David’s wrists, pinning his hands behind his back, he twisted around, his eyes locking onto Arthur with desperate fury. “You think you won, Arthur?! You think you can just erase me?! I am Emma’s father! My blood is in her veins! You will never be able to hide the truth from her!”
Arthur didn't flinch. He reached into his coat pocket and withdrew a slender, sealed manila envelope, tossing it onto the kitchen counter next to David’s shattered wine glass.
“What is that?” David gasped, straining against the agent’s grip.
“That is the result of the comprehensive DNA paternity panel conducted on Emma three weeks ago,” Arthur said calmly.
David froze. The breath caught in his throat, his eyes darting frantically between the envelope and Arthur’s impassive face. “What... what are you talking about? Of course she’s my daughter! We did the fertility treatments!”
Sarah looked at David from the stretcher, her expression entirely devoid of remorse. “We did the treatments, David. But after the first time you put your hands around my throat during our second year of marriage, I knew I could never let your sickness be passed down to an innocent child. I switched the donor sample at the private clinic in Boston.”
The kitchen went dead silent. Even the federal agents paused for a fraction of a second, the gravity of the revelation hanging in the bright, sterile air.
David stared at Sarah, his jaw slacking, his eyes widening in pure, incomprehensible shock. “You... what did you do?”
“Emma has none of your blood, David,” Sarah said, each word landing like an anvil. “She carries no trace of your cruelty, no trace of your mother’s narcissism, and no trace of the Bennett name. You have no biological claim to her. You have no legal claim to her. In the eyes of the law, and in the eyes of God, you are an absolute stranger.”
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David let out a strangled, animalistic howl of rage, violently thrashing against the two federal agents who immediately forced him down onto the floor, driving a knee into his back to keep him pinned. “You lied to me! You made me raise another man’s child! You bitch! I’ll kill you! I swear to God I’ll kill you!”
“Get him out of here,” Agent Davis commanded, and the two officers hoisted David up by his bound arms, dragging his flailing, screaming form down the hallway and out into the cold night.
