Chapter 13 - The Second DirectiveDown in the staff quarters, Elena’s room looked like a sterile monastic cell. No personal photos, no books, no clothes that didn't fit her quiet, subservient persona.
Marco pointed his flashlight toward a loose floorboard beneath the bed.
“We found a secondary encrypted satellite transmitter,” Marco said, pulling out a sleek, black metallic briefcase. “It wasn't connected to Vance’s system. It was linked to an independent receiver off-site. A buyer in Geneva.”
I knelt down, flipping open the briefcase. Inside were stacks of encrypted cryptocurrency cold wallets and a printed contract.
My eyes scanned the text, and the blood froze in my veins.
This wasn't just about revenge against Adrien Moretti. Vance and Elena hadn't planned to blow up the house just to kill us.
The explosives were timed to detonate after the nursery wing collapsed into the sea. The objective wasn't my death.
It was the abduction of the triplets.
The contract specified a live delivery of Subject infants A, B, and C to a high-tier biogenetics broker in Europe—infants whose genetic profiles had been altered by my own bloodline’s immunity to a rare neurological pathogen.
“They weren't trying to kill my children, Marco,” I whispered, the realization tasting like ash in my mouth. “They were trying to harvest them.”
Marco cursed under his breath, his hand resting on his sidearm. “If Elena was working for Geneva, and Vance was running the local trap... who’s running the buyer's end? Geneva is a ghost town for syndicate remnants.”
Before Marco could finish his sentence, the secure satellite phone inside the briefcase began to vibrate violently.
Bzzzt. Bzzzt.
May you like
The screen flashed a single incoming encrypted video call from an international satellite relay.
I didn't hesitate. I reached down and pressed Accept.
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