An unread message from the national genetic registry office popped up, flagged with an urgent red notification icon.

I gripped the edge of the laminate desk and rolled the chair closer to the screen.

The email subject line said: Notification of Kinship Analysis – Case ID 88402.

I clicked the link.

The browser window reloaded twice and brought up a secure verification portal.

A bold box showed up in the middle of the screen, laying out the preliminary results from the DNA swab I’d mailed four days before.

Under the barcode index, a highlighted line of text flashed once and then held still.