Chapter 13 - VICTOR'S FINAL DEFENSE
Victor Ames denied deliberately falsifying paternity.
His attorney built a precise defense.
Victor admitted:
he wanted the executive sample completed,
he cleared a flag,
he approved control substitution,
he wanted Liam distracted from vendor review.
But he claimed he did not understand the software would automatically generate a paternity interpretation using the substituted male control.
Was that believable?
Possibly.
He was an operations executive, not a geneticist.
Naomi disagreed.
Training records showed Victor completed relationship-testing workflow certification two years earlier.
Not expert-level.
Enough to know pairing the wrong male sample invalidated the result.
Then a recovered message changed the balance.
Victor to Caleb:
If Liam sees exclusion, he’ll spend a week chasing Ava instead of procurement.
Caleb:
That’s insane.
Victor:
It buys time.
There.
Intent.
Not necessarily intent to destroy a marriage forever.
Intent to use false personal information as distraction.
The board terminated Victor for cause.
Ames Biomedical contract was suspended and rebid.
The acquisition with Helix Meridian did not collapse.
It was delayed.
Price adjusted downward after diligence.
Davies Genomics survived.
That mattered.
Real companies do not always explode because one executive is corrupt.
They restructure.
Notify.
Audit.
Pay.
Repair.
Victor faced civil claims and potential criminal exposure related to records manipulation and financial conflicts.
May you like
The process continued.
No instant prison montage.
