Chapter 18 - Shadows in the Snow
A month passed in relative calm. The underworld had learned its lesson: the widow of Carl Thorne was not a target to be tested. She was a force of nature.
Yet, deep within the automated threat-monitoring systems, a strange anomaly began to surface.
It was late evening when ECHO interrupted my review of the Asian shipping manifests.
Mrs. Thorne, the AI's voice chimed, shifting into a high-priority alert tone. We have detected an anomalous signal originating from an isolated cabin in the Swiss Alps, approximately forty miles from our location.
I paused, looking up from my tablet. "An anomalous signal? Is it a Vanguard remnant?"
Negative, ECHO replied, projecting a thermal feed onto the main wall screen. The signal isn't digital. It's biological. And it matches a genetic signature registered under a restricted Thorne family file.
I frowned, standing up from my desk. "A family file? Carl and Eleanor are the only surviving Thornes. Eleanor is in her estate in Geneva."
That is the discrepancy, ECHO's voice noted. The genetic signature matches someone registered as deceased twenty-five years ago.
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My heart skipped a beat. Twenty-five years ago. The exact time my father supposedly died in a car crash.
"Get the transport ready," I said immediately, grabbing my coat and sliding the sidearm into its holster. "Julian, get your gear. We're taking a detour into the mountains."
