Chapter 4 - THE HUNT ON LIVE TELEVISION
Rain began to pour over the neon-lit city streets. Leo ducked under the awning of an abandoned warehouse, his breath ragged. He popped open the heavy leather briefcase.
Inside lay a futuristic transparent tablet, a strange biometric ring, and a physical dossier sealed with red wax.
He broke the wax seal and opened the dossier. The first page made his heart freeze:
PROJECT MIRROR: THE STERLING REPLACEMENT INITIATIVE Target: Leo Vance. Status: DNA verified.
As he read through the classified documents, the horrifying truth emerged. Eleanor Sterling hadn't just found him by accident. She had engineered his entire life. His parents' debt, his job application, his living situation—everything had been orchestrated by Eleanor to force him into that boutique at that exact moment.
"She used me..." Leo whispered, anger rising in his throat. "It was all a staged play!"
Suddenly, the ambient streetlights flickered and died. A shadow swooped down from the rooftop above.
Leo ducked just as a high-caliber sniper round obliterated the concrete wall behind him. Dust and debris exploded into the air.
"Did you really think you could run from the Sterling Board, boy?"
A woman stepped out of the rain shadow. It wasn't Victoria. It was a younger, impeccably dressed woman wearing a white tailored suit that remained pristine despite the downpour. She held an umbrella in one hand and a silenced pistol in the other.
"Who are you?" Leo demanded, backing away, keeping the briefcase tight against his chest.
"I am Samantha Sterling. Eleanor's legitimate granddaughter," she said with a icy smile. "My grandmother was a madwoman obsessed with guilt. She thought giving the company back to a Vance would cleanse her soul. But this empire belongs to me."
"She's dead," Leo said, his voice cold. "Victoria killed her."
Samantha chuckled softly, a chilling sound that echoed in the dark alley. "Victoria is an idiot who thought she was in control. She was just a pawn to draw you out. Do you really think my grandmother died down there? That old snake has died three times this decade. It's all a game to her."
Leo’s mind spun. An animatronic double... a staged setup... Eleanor was still alive?
"Hand over the briefcase, Leo," Samantha said, raising her weapon. "You're a ghost. The news media is broadcasting your face right now as a murderer. If I shoot you here, the world will thank me for putting down a terrorist."
Leo looked down at the transparent tablet inside the briefcase. The biometric ring was glowing with a faint blue pulse.
It requires my DNA to activate, he realized.
Instead of hand over the case, Leo jammed his finger through the biometric ring.
BZZZZT.
A high-definition holographic projection burst from the tablet, shooting fifty feet into the air above the alleyway, casting a blinding light over the surrounding buildings. It hijacked every digital billboard, every smartphone, and every news channel in the city.
The face of Madam Eleanor Sterling appeared on every screen in the metropolis.
"If you are watching this, the Sterling Board of Directors has committed treason against the city..."
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Samantha’s face turned white with rage. "Shut it off!" she screamed, firing three shots into the air, but the holographic projection was coming from a satellite network linked directly to the ring.
The war was no longer hidden in the shadows. It was being broadcast to millions of live viewers.
