Chapter 3 - The Mask of Mercy
Claire’s heart hammered against her ribs as she clutched the infant tighter, feeling the unnatural heat radiating from the baby's skin. The blue blanket seemed to pulse with a faint, bioluminescent glow that only she and Ethan could see in the dimming light. Officer Ryan, sensing the shift in the room's atmosphere, lowered his weapon slightly but kept his eyes narrowed. ""Nobody moves until backup arrives,"" Ryan commanded, though his voice lacked its previous authority. Ethan ignored the cops entirely, his fingers dancing across the override keypad of the medical monitor with practiced precision. ""You're accelerating the metabolic collapse by keeping him in that blanket,"" Ethan muttered, his eyes fixed on Claire. ""Give him to me."" Claire hesitated, her mind torn between her oath as a nurse and her loyalty to the Syndicate that funded her research. She looked down at the baby’s face—tiny features, perfectly formed, yet carrying a genetic code that could destroy global pharmaceutical monopolies. Suddenly, the front windows exploded inward in a shower of glass and smoke, and heavy tactical boots rushed across the threshold.
