LOGINNo one spoke.Theron's accusation remained suspended in the room.The person standing in this room who has lied to you the longest.Seraphina looked from one face to another.Marielle.Older Darian.Orlan.Caelric.Theron.Her mother was not there.Neither was Lucien.Her thoughts raced through everything she had learned during the past weeks.The hidden files.The photographs.The succession agreement.The missing report.The night at 11:47.Her mother's disappearance.Her father's disappearance.The protector clause.Someone had been lying to her for years.But who?Caelric moved slightly closer.“Theron,” he said, “if you're accusing someone, name them.”Theron didn't answer.Instead, he looked at Seraphina.“This is your decision.”“My decision?”“You need to decide who you trust before I tell you.”Seraphina frowned.“You brought us here to give us answers.”“I brought you here because answers without trust will destroy you.”Caelric's voice became colder.“She deserves the truth
The phone continued ringing.No one moved to answer it.The sound came from somewhere beyond the private office, echoing faintly through the corridor of the old Veyron wing.Seraphina remained beside the desk, staring at the words on the black screen.THE ORIGINAL PROTECTOR IS STILL ALIVE.Twenty-four years.That was how long Marielle said the person had been believed dead.Seraphina turned toward her.“Who was the original protector?”Marielle didn't answer immediately.Caelric's voice was quieter.“Mother.”Marielle finally looked at her son.“The protector was someone your father trusted more than anyone.”“Who?”“My brother.”Caelric's face changed.“Elias?”“No.”Marielle shook her head.“Your father's younger brother was Elias. The original protector was someone else.”Seraphina frowned.“You said your brother.”“I said someone from the family.”Marielle's hands tightened around the edge of the desk.“Your father's closest friend was named Theron Veyron.”Caelric stared at her.
The countdown continued.09:31.09:30.Seraphina stared at the screen, refusing to let the numbers dictate her thoughts.DO YOU BOTH DECLARE THE SUCCESSION COMPROMISED?YES.NO.Neither option felt safe.Caelric stood beside her, his attention fixed on the system. “If we choose yes, the succession enters transition.”“And the third authority takes control,” Seraphina said.Marielle nodded grimly. “That is what the warning means.”Seraphina turned toward her. “And if we choose no?”“The current structure remains active.”“That sounds safer.”“It isn't.”Marielle's answer came without hesitation.“The system has already identified the third authority. If you choose no, you are accepting a compromised structure while knowing someone has altered the succession records.”Seraphina looked back at the screen.08:54.She understood the trap now.The system wasn't asking them to choose between safety and danger.It was asking them to choose which danger they were willing to face.Caelric leane
Marielle stood at the end of the corridor.She wasn't carrying anything.She wasn't accompanied by security.She wasn't even trying to hide.That frightened Seraphina more than if she had arrived with an entire team.Caelric stepped slightly in front of Seraphina.“Mother.”Marielle's eyes moved to him.“I told you not to come here.”“You told Seraphina not to come here.”“And you ignored me.”“Yes.”Her gaze shifted to Seraphina.“You found the report.”Seraphina held the black folder against her chest.“Yes.”Marielle's expression tightened.“Then you need to leave.”“No.”The answer came immediately.Marielle stopped.Seraphina stepped beside Caelric.“You don't get to do that anymore.”“Do what?”“Tell me to leave without explaining why.”Marielle's eyes softened.“I am trying to keep you safe.”“You've been saying that my entire life.”“I know.”“And every time I ask what you're protecting me from, you give me another secret.”Marielle looked down.“I never wanted you to carry th
The moment Orlan said someone was already at the foundation, Caelric's expression changed.“Then we don't go through the main entrance.”Orlan shook his head.“There won't be anyone at the main entrance.”“Then where?”“Everywhere else.”Seraphina looked at him.“You knew this could happen.”“I suspected it.”“And you didn't tell us?”“I didn't have enough proof.”Caelric picked up the envelope containing the access records.“You have a habit of waiting until the worst possible moment to become honest.”Orlan ignored the remark.“The person watching the foundation doesn't want you dead.”Seraphina frowned.“That is supposed to make me feel better?”“No.”Orlan looked directly at her.“They want you alive.”“Why?”“Because you're the only person who can activate Room D.”Seraphina glanced at the silver key.“What about Caelric?”“He can open the first authorization layer.”“And I open the second.”“Yes.”Caelric looked toward the locked office door.“Then whoever is inside wants both o
“Finally.”The voice came from somewhere inside the darkness.Seraphina froze.She could hear Caelric breathing beside her, steady and controlled despite the sudden loss of light.Then Orlan spoke.“Who is there?”No answer.A faint mechanical click sounded near the wall.Seraphina reached instinctively for Caelric's hand.He found hers first.“Stay close,” he whispered.“I am.”A small emergency light flickered above the door, casting just enough illumination across the office to reveal silhouettes.Orlan stood near the entrance.The older Darian was beside the desk.Caelric was between Seraphina and the center of the room.Nobody else was visible.Yet the voice had definitely been there.Seraphina whispered,“Did you hear that?”Caelric nodded.Orlan looked toward the ceiling.“It's coming through the office system.”Caelric immediately moved toward the desk.“Can you shut it down?”“I can try.”The older Darian stopped him.“Don't.”Caelric turned.“Why?”“Because whoever activated







