Chapter 23 - The Discrepancy in the ArchivesBy November, Stanford was blanketed in a crisp autumn chill. While researching a landmark 1990s corporate fraud case for a term paper, Isabella stumbled upon an anomaly in the university's digital historical database.

The case file involved a pharmaceutical startup called Genesis Pharma—the very entity that had funded the black-ops genetic project tied to Victor Thorne years ago.
As Isabella dug deeper into the scanned financial ledgers, a cold dread pooled in her stomach.
One of the primary venture capital firms that funded Genesis Pharma in its infancy was registered under a private holding name: Ares Capital LLC.
And the registered beneficiary of Ares Capital wasn't a corporation. It was an individual.
May you like
A man named Julian Thorne.
Isabella’s fingers froze on the keyboard. She slowly turned her head to look across the library study carrel at Julian, who was quietly typing on his laptop, a calm, inscrutable smile playing on his lips.