Tous les chapitres de : Chapitre 11 - Chapitre 18

Cassian said he could make every article disappear in ten minutes."And then what?" I asked. "Tomorrow they release another edited clip and everyone still thinks I'm insane.""At least the kids won't be on display.""And no one will ever know what St. Grace did."I didn't read the comments. Instead, I had my lawyer list every one of Ward's accusations, then search for evidence to answer each one. Cassian sat across the conference table and didn't bring up deleting the coverage again.That evening, Claire leaked the first page of the seven-night contract and the five-hundred-thousand-dollar transfer record to the press. She'd obtained them from Seraphina. She omitted the fertility risk disclosures and the eggshell's tracking function, leaving only the payment, the penthouse address, and my signature.New headlines appeared quickly: Poor woman takes $500,000, returns three years later with six children to claim royal status. Some said I'd known who Cassian was all along. Others speculate

The audit confirmed that my electronic signature covered only the main contract.The interspecies addendum had been merged into the file by the agency's account after the seven nights ended. The timestamps and page numbers didn't match. The agency director initially hid behind a confidentiality agreement, but once our lawyers produced internal payment records, he admitted Seraphina had instructed them to "simplify the human version" and produce a complete contract favorable to the Serpent Council after the fact.But Seraphina didn't withdraw the bloodline petition.She shifted her argument. "The addendum may have procedural flaws, but that doesn't mean the young can leave royal oversight. Since Cassian acknowledges the bloodline, he has a duty to bring the heirs back to the Vere family."That statement forced Cassian into a choice between two paths.If he claimed the children as Serpent King, royal precedent would grant him automatic primary custody. A human court might also conclude t

St. Grace had registered its twelve partner sites under different names. On paper, they were rare-disease clinics, child rehabilitation centers, and genetics labs. Inside, they all used the same numbering system.In the command vehicle, I turned Finn's old band over in my hands. The first two digits indicated ability type, the middle two indicated age, and the last two were the facility code."They can change the names, but they can't change this numbering system." I wrote the pattern down for the investigators. "Start with facilities that had a sudden spike in power use for cooling and applied for medical transport tonight."The twelve sites quickly narrowed to three. The nearest was in the neighboring state, registered as the St. Anne's Children's Sleep Center.Cassian opened his personal emergency account on the spot. Twelve medical jets, thirty ambulances, and independent doctors across multiple states stood by. The nearest medical team would deploy to whichever facility still held

Weeks later, as the Carter Protocol was about to expand to more pilot sites, the Vere family board froze the final tranche of treatment funding.They set three conditions: the center had to bear the Vere name, Cassian had to serve as permanent chairman, and a copy of all mixed-blood children's data had to be stored on Serpent servers.The Norton family then hosted a medical charity gala in New York as a fundraiser. The invitations claimed support for mixed-blood children. What was actually on the table was who would control the center.When I walked into the ballroom with my lawyer, my nameplate had been placed at a small table by the service entrance. Claire sat at the head table, flanked by Vere directors and hospital coalition representatives."This is Ms. Carter's first event of this kind. A seat near the exit is more convenient," she said with a smile. "If she's uncomfortable, at least she won't disturb the other guests."I didn't argue about seating. I had my lawyer spread the fi