Chapter 9 - The Ghost of the Past
The revelation hit Clara like physical trauma. ""My father? Marcus told me he died before I was born!""
""Marcus lied to protect you,"" Victoria answered, her fingers dancing across a holographic keyboard in Geneva. ""Your father was never a victim, Clara. His name is Victor Blackwood. He was your mother's greatest mistake—a ruthless sociopath who attempted a coup against the Cygnus Syndicate thirty years ago. Your mother shattered his empire, took his wealth, and went into hiding with Marcus. But Blackwood never stopped hunting for her line.""
Victoria pulled up a satellite feed on the screen. A sleek black Gulfstream had just touched down on the tarmac of the private airfield near the estate. A motorcade of armored black Suburbans was already idling on the runway, waiting for him.
""Lauren was Blackwood’s illegitimate daughter,"" Victoria continued, her voice heavy with urgency. ""Her entire seduction of Julian was an orchestration. She manipulated Julian’s ego, fed him the documents to frame you, and turned him against Marcus. All of it was designed to force you out into the open so Blackwood could seize your child—the only remaining biometric key to the global reserves.""
Clara looked down at Alexander, who had fallen asleep against her chest, his tiny fingers curled around the hem of the surgical gown. A savage protective instinct, raw and ancient, ignited in her chest.
""How long until they breach this vault?"" Clara asked, her voice turning remarkably cold.
""That tungsten door can withstand heavy artillery for forty-eight hours,"" Victoria replied. ""However, Blackwood brought seismic drilling equipment. They’ll pump neurotoxin through the emergency air intake within six. You cannot stay there, Clara.""
""Then I need a way out.""
""There is an extraction tunnel leading two miles north to an abandoned rail siding,"" Victoria said. ""A high-speed mag-rail pod was built under the estate bedrock. But to unlock the pod's ignition, you need to manually divert the estate's primary power grid from the mansion's basement breaker.""
Clara glanced toward the heavy vault door. ""The basement where Marcus and Lauren died. Where the mercenaries are.""
""Yes,"" Victoria said quietly. ""I have a strike team en route, but we are forty minutes away. You would have to open the door, reach the breaker, and return to the vault before Blackwood arrives.""
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Clara slowly swung her legs over the edge of the gurney. The post-birth pain was sharp, but her adrenaline washed it away. She walked to the wall armory, which had slid open upon the child’s birth. Inside rested sleek tactical armor, communication buds, and a lightweight submachine gun.
""Prepare the extraction pod, Victoria,"" Clara said, clicking a fresh magazine into the weapon. ""I'm going to finish what my mother started.""
