Chapter 142: The Ghost in the Machine---The flight from Brussels was short, but the weight it carried was anything but light. Sophia sat by the window, watching clouds blur beneath the wing as the plane sliced through the sky. Elise, seated beside her, kept her eyes fixed on a tablet, scrolling th
Chapter 141: Shadows in the Web---Sophia woke to the distant hum of a border train pulling into Geneva’s Hauptbahnhof. Just enough light to paint the station in pale morning tones. Elise stirred in the seat across from her, eyelids fluttering before she sat up fully.“Another day, another war,” El
Chapter 140: Echoes of the Directive---The early morning light in Salzburg was gentle, but its warmth offered little comfort. Sophia sat on the train, the gentle click of the wheels a stark contrast to the roaring headlines she’d escaped. Elise lounged across from her, eyes scanning a covert news
Chapter 139: The Catalyst of DisclosureThe aftermath of exposure struck like an earthquake.Within minutes of Sophia and Elise disappearing into Zurich’s shadowed alleys, the Directive’s root code cascaded through torrent sites, dark web channels, and frontend servers—no owner, no gatekeeper, just
Chapter 138: The Zurich Key---Zurich’s cold clarity hit differently than Vienna’s dense haze. The mountains in the distance looked sharp enough to cut sky. Clean air. Clean money. And now, a clean breach waiting to happen.Sophia and Elise moved through the Hauptbahnhof station like ghosts, dresse
Chapter 137: The Vienna Directive---The wind off the Danube was colder than expected for late spring. Sophia stood on the old bridge just beyond Vienna’s city center, her coat drawn tightly around her, eyes scanning the pedestrian walkway ahead. Tourists were sparse at this hour. Locals even spars