Lahat ng Kabanata ng I Quit Being the CEO’s Shadow : Kabanata 41 - Kabanata 50

No one moved.The crackling fire inside the massive stone fireplace was the only sound in the hall.Evelyn stared at Eleanor, trying to process what she had just heard."I carried it..."She spoke almost to herself."For all those years?"Eleanor nodded."You did.""And I never knew?""No.""That was the point."Adrian looked equally stunned."The engineer...""Who was he?"Eleanor's expression softened."His name was Lucas Meyer.""He was only twenty-nine.""A brilliant software architect.""He wrote the final version of Horizon's predictive engine."Captain Moreau immediately recognized the name."Lucas Meyer."She looked toward Inspector Keller's tablet."I've seen that file.""He died in a car accident."Eleanor slowly shook her head."No.""He was murdered."Silence spread through the hall.Daniel frowned."The investigation concluded it was an accident.""The investigation concluded what someone wanted it to conclude."Eleanor replied calmly."His brakes were cut."Captain Morea

The explosion rocked the hidden archive.Ancient shelves trembled violently.Leather-bound ledgers crashed onto the stone floor as centuries of carefully preserved records scattered across the room.Dust filled the air.The lights flickered once...Twice...Then stabilized under emergency power.Captain Moreau pressed a hand against her earpiece."Report!"Gunfire answered before any voice could.The sharp crack of automatic weapons echoed through the château below.Then came frantic radio traffic."Alpha Team taking fire!""Unknown hostiles entering through the south wing!""We need immediate backup!"Daniel instinctively moved Evelyn behind one of the massive stone pillars."Stay down."Adrian crouched beside her."Are you hurt?"She shook her head."No."But her hands were trembling.Not from fear.From realization."They've come for the story."Professor Isabelle nodded grimly."They've finally realized she still remembers."Charles Beaumont listened carefully to the sounds below.

The first stone column crashed into the archive floor with a thunderous roar.Ancient shelves collapsed like dominoes.Leather-bound ledgers burst open as loose pages filled the air, swirling through the smoke like frightened birds."Move!"Captain Moreau grabbed Evelyn's arm just as another section of the ceiling gave way.A slab of stone smashed into the floor where Evelyn had been standing only seconds earlier.Adrian wrapped one arm around her shoulders and pulled her toward the hidden elevator."Go!"Daniel and two tactical officers pushed Professor Isabelle into the iron lift first.Charles Beaumont didn't move.Instead, he stared at the collapsing archive with hollow eyes."Seventy years..."he whispered."Everything...""...gone."Sebastian seized him by the arm."You can mourn later.""If you stay here, you'll die."Charles let out a bitter laugh."Perhaps I deserve to."Sebastian looked him directly in the eye."No.""You deserve to testify."Those words finally reached him.

The laboratory fell silent.Every monitor glowed with the same message.REMOTE AUTHORIZATION ACCEPTEDAUTHORIZED USER: VICTORIA HALEEvelyn stared at the screen without blinking."No..."She whispered."She can't be alive."Professor Isabelle covered her mouth."I watched her disappear."Charles Beaumont slowly lowered himself into a chair.His hands were shaking."I buried an empty coffin."Captain Moreau turned sharply toward him."Empty?"Charles nodded weakly."There was never a body.""The authorities assumed the river had carried it away."Sebastian immediately began typing commands into the ancient console.The Horizon Core responded with astonishing speed.Lines of encrypted code raced across the monitors."Someone is connected."He frowned."But...""But what?"Adrian asked."They aren't accessing Horizon.""They're talking to it."Daniel looked confused."What does that even mean?"Sebastian didn't answer immediately.Instead, he enlarged a data stream moving across one of t

The laboratory disappeared beneath a flood of white light.No alarms.No explosions.Only silence.The countdown continued without interruption.09:5809:57Every monitor displayed the same words.GENESIS PROTOCOL ACTIVECaptain Moreau was the first to move."Dr. Roth.""What is Genesis?"Elias didn't answer immediately.His eyes remained fixed on the countdown.His normally calm face had become unnaturally tense."It shouldn't have activated."Sebastian stepped beside him."You designed this system.""I designed Horizon."Elias replied."I never designed Genesis."Charles stared at him."What do you mean?"Elias slowly looked toward the glowing Core."Lucas did."Silence settled over the laboratory.Professor Isabelle whispered,"No...""He promised me he destroyed those files.""He destroyed the research."Elias corrected."But not the emergency protocol."Daniel frowned."Can somebody explain what we're about to die from?"Elias turned toward him."Genesis isn't a weapon.""Then wh