CHAPTER 3 – The Woman They Turned Into a Weapon
The courtroom fell into complete panic.
Judges ducked behind their benches.
Lawyers ran for the exits.
Reporters screamed as armed officers flooded the room.
But Victoria didn't move.
She stood over Senator Graves' lifeless body, staring at the note clutched in his hand.
"She was never the daughter. She was the weapon."
The words echoed inside her mind.
A weapon?
No...
That couldn't be true.
She had dedicated her life to justice.
She had sacrificed everything to protect innocent people.
So why did those words feel... familiar?
"Victoria!"
Elias shouted from across the courtroom.
"Don't let them take you!"
She turned just as six tactical officers surrounded her, rifles raised.
"Victoria Hale," their commander barked.
"By order of National Security, you are under arrest for conspiracy, espionage, and the murder of Senator Malcolm Graves."
The courtroom gasped.
Even the judge looked stunned.
Victoria slowly raised her hands.
"I didn't kill him."
The commander smiled coldly.
"You don't remember, do you?"
Before she could answer, a giant screen at the front of the courtroom flickered to life again.
A security recording appeared.
Timestamp: Thirty seconds before the blackout.
The room watched in silence.
Victoria was clearly seen walking toward Senator Graves.
She leaned close...
Whispered something.
Then, with impossible speed, she pulled a thin silver blade from her sleeve.
One precise movement.
The blade disappeared into Graves' chest.
The lights went out.
When they came back...
He was dead.
Every person in the courtroom stared at Victoria in horror.
She shook her head violently.
"No..."
"I never did that."
"I don't even own a blade."
The commander tossed something onto the floor.
A silver knife slid across the marble.
Victoria froze.
It was covered with Graves' blood.
And engraved on the handle were two initials.
V.H.
The evidence was overwhelming.
The guards rushed forward.
But before they could grab her...
Elias slammed both chained wrists against the steel chair.
CRACK!
The chains snapped apart.
The entire courtroom froze.
No ordinary prisoner could break military restraints.
Elias stood to his full height.
His weak posture vanished.
His eyes became cold and calculating.
"I warned you," he said quietly.
"You should have left her alone."
Within seconds, three guards charged him.
None of them even touched him.
In less than ten seconds, all three were unconscious on the floor.
The courtroom erupted into terrified screams.
Victoria stared at him.
"Who... are you?"
Elias smiled sadly.
"The man they trained to protect the weapon."
Before he could explain further...
Every phone inside the courtroom buzzed simultaneously.
One emergency alert.
One sentence.
SUBJECT VICTORIA HALE HAS BEEN ACTIVATED. TERMINATE IMMEDIATELY.
Victoria looked up in confusion.
Activated?
Then...
A sharp pain exploded inside her head.
Flashes of memories she had never lived flooded her mind.
Secret laboratories.
Children in white uniforms.
Combat training.
Mind-control experiments.
A voice repeating the same sentence over and over:
"When the trigger word is spoken... she will obey."
Victoria collapsed to her knees, clutching her head.
Tears streamed down her face.
"No..."
"No... this isn't real..."
Elias ran toward her.
But before he could reach her...
A calm voice echoed through the courtroom speakers.
"Welcome back, Subject Zero."
Victoria slowly lifted her head.
Her trembling eyes suddenly became cold.
Emotionless.
Empty.
She looked directly at Elias...
Raised the bloodstained knife...
May you like
And whispered four words that made his face turn white.
"Mission acknowledged. Target confirmed."
