Chapter 9 - The Archduke ProtocolLucas took the thick, dust-covered journal written in his father’s precise cursive handwriting. Arthur Vance—the founder of Vance Global—had died eight years ago under mysterious circumstances officially labeled as a sudden heart attack.
Lucas flipped to the final entries, dated two weeks before Arthur's death.
October 14th: Eleanor has crossed a line. She has signed a silent partnership with the Defense Advanced Research Directorate. They are funding 'Project Dawn Harvest' using our offshore accounts. She believes human emotion is a biological defect that must be engineered out of future generations.
October 22nd: If I am removed, Eleanor will proceed with the human trials. I have hidden the master biological key—the only code capable of neutralizing the genetic override—inside the central vault of our Zurich firm. The access key is divided into four biological markers. Only my true bloodline can open it.
Lucas looked up from the diary, his pulse pounding in his ears.
"The master biological key," Lucas murmured. "The boys aren't just the subjects of the experiment... they are the vault key."
"Which means Julian doesn't just want to kill them," Clara realized, her face turning pale. "He needs their biological profile alive to unlock Arthur's master override! Once he extracts their DNA profile, then he disposes of them."
Suddenly, the cabin's lights flickered and went black.
The crackle of the wood fire was the only light left in the room.
Outside, the quiet rustle of pine needles was broken by the distinct crunch of combat boots on frozen mud.
Lucas moved to the window, peering through the timber blinds. Surrounding the cabin in a wide tactical circle were at least twenty heavily armed mercenaries dressed in white winter camouflage, bearing the red umbrella insignia of Vance Global's black-ops division.
And standing at the front of the formation, wearing a fur-collared tactical coat and holding an encrypted satellite tablet, was Julian Vance.
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Julian picked up a bullhorn, his voice echoing coldly through the freezing woods.
"Lucas!" Julian called out, his tone dripping with mock affection. "You always were the honorable fool of the family. Did you really think Father’s old safehouse wasn't monitored?"
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