Novels by fredinardjustine

The press conference venue was a London hotel ballroom, but the impact would be global. Four podiums stood in a row. Behind them, massive screens displayed the Ashcroft family crest—soon to become the symbol of centuries of crimes.Media from thirty countries filled every seat. Cameras lined the back wall. The feed was being broadcast live across six continents.James stood at the first podium with Elena beside him. To his right, Tanaka had arrived from Tokyo. Silva from São Paulo, her daughter safely with Marcus's security team. Osman from Cape Town.Four survivors. One voice."Thank you for coming," James began. The room fell silent. "My name is James Thorne. For three years, I was known as Asset T-07. I was thirteen years old when the Ashcroft family purchased me from my uncle for two million dollars."He displayed his hospital bracelet on the screen. The label clear: Asset T-07."I was held at the Ashcroft Estate in Switzerland. Trained to serve as a private physician for the ultr

Tokyo's neon-lit streets felt alien after London's historic elegance. James and Elena followed Marcus's coordinates to a narrow alley in Akihabara, down stairs that led beneath an electronics shop that blared music into the night.The clinic was hidden behind a door marked only with Japanese characters. James knocked using the pattern Marcus's investigator had specified.A man opened the door—mid-thirties, lean, with eyes that assessed them in a single glance. "You're not patients.""Dr. Tanaka?" James asked. "My name is James Thorne. I need to talk to you about the Ashcroft family."Tanaka's expression went from wary to hostile instantly. He tried to close the door. James blocked it with his foot."I escaped fifteen years ago," James said quickly. "Asset T-07. I spent three years at their Swiss estate."Tanaka stopped pushing. Stared at James with something between recognition and horror."You're bringing death to my door," he said."Or freedom," James countered. "We can end this. To

Marcus's London hotel suite had been transformed into a war room within hours. Laptops covered every surface. Documents sprawled across tables. A whiteboard dominated one wall, already filling with names and connections.Harrison appeared on the main screen via video call from his estate. "Tell me everything."James recounted the meeting while Marcus's investigators pulled up information on each Ashcroft family member. What they found was staggering."Lord Henry Ashcroft sits on the board of three major pharmaceutical companies," one investigator reported. "Dame Margaret has connections to European parliament members across six countries. Sir Edmund has represented heads of state in international courts.""They own politicians?" Elena asked."They don't need to own them," the investigator said. "They've been doing favors for powerful families for centuries. That kind of influence doesn't require ownership—just mutual benefit."Marcus added information to the whiteboard. Lines connecti

The Ashcroft London residence occupied an entire block in Kensington, all Georgian architecture and centuries of accumulated wealth. Security guards stood at intervals along the perimeter wall. The gate opened automatically as James and Elena's car approached."Last chance to turn around," Elena said quietly."They have surveillance on my parents," James said. "We don't have a choice."A butler met them at the entrance, his formal manner suggesting he'd served the family for decades. He led them through marble hallways lined with portraits of stern-faced ancestors, each painting more expensive than James's clinic building.The meeting room was more boardroom than drawing room. A long mahogany table dominated the space, surrounded by leather chairs. Twelve people sat waiting, all dressed in formal business attire despite the evening hour.Lady Victoria sat at the head of the table. She gestured to two empty chairs opposite her. "Mr. Thorne. Miss Sterling. Please, sit."James recognized

James made it to the car before the first wave hit. Elena barely got him into the back seat before he doubled over, hyperventilating."Drive," she told their driver urgently. "The hotel. Now."The memories weren't fragments anymore. They were a flood, overwhelming and complete, fifteen years of suppression breaking apart like a dam giving way.His uncle's face. Cold, calculating. "They'll take good care of you, James. Better than I can."Two million dollars changing hands. His uncle walking away without looking back.The transport vehicle. Locked from the outside. Hours of darkness and terror as he was driven through mountains he couldn't see.Elena got him to their hotel suite and locked the door. James collapsed on the floor, back against the wall, shaking violently."Tell me what you're seeing," she said, kneeling beside him."Everything," James gasped. "I remember everything now."The Ashcroft Estate materialized in his mind with perfect clarity. Stone walls three feet thick. Wind

The private room Lady Victoria led them to was more library than office. Floor-to-ceiling bookshelves held medical texts in multiple languages, some appearing centuries old. A fire crackled in the marble fireplace despite it being summer.Two security guards stood outside the closed door. Not waiting—guarding."Sit, please," Lady Victoria said, settling into a wingback chair with the grace of someone born to command. "This will take some time to explain properly."James and Elena sat on the opposing sofa. Elena kept her hand on James's arm, grounding him as memories continued to surface in disjointed fragments."The American Ashfords—Victor's branch—were crude," Lady Victoria began without preamble. "Traffickers. Experimenters. They treated children as laboratory specimens. My family built something far more sophisticated over three centuries.""Three centuries?" Elena asked."The Ashcroft Physician Cultivation Program began in 1724," Lady Victoria said with something like pride. "We