Kaelen sat hunched over a series of glass-encased monitors, his eyes tracing the jagged lines of a genetic sequence that shouldn't have existed.He had only been officially working on the military’s project for a short while, but the pace here was breakneck.Every single hour brought a new discovery, a fresh piece of the puzzle that made his heart hammer against his ribs.He was making grand discoveries at a rate that would have taken a civilian lab a decade to achieve. The resources at his disposal were staggering—unlimited processing power, rare enzymes, and a team of silent, efficient assistants who moved like ghosts.If things went according to the plan he was sketching out in his mind, he actually had a real, tangible hope of treating Mirella.He didn't want to think about it too much.He couldn't even begin to fully imagine the relief because a part of him was still terrified.He feared that his hope might eventually fail, that the science would hit a wall he couldn't climb, and

Kaelen stared at the grey concrete wall of the canteen, his issued military phone feeling like a brick in his hand. Jonah’s voice had finally cut out, but the words were still ringing in his ears, vibrating with a tension he didn't know how to handle. He was exhausted, but the news about Arianna’s choice had spiked his adrenaline in the worst way possible. He understood it—really, he did—but that didn’t stop the slow, hot crawl of exasperation from tightening his chest. "She’s really doing this, Jonah?" Kaelen asked, his voice low and raspy from hours of silence in the lab."She feels like she doesn't have a choice, Boss," Jonah replied over the static-heavy line. "The pressure from the press, the way Riley is painting her in the media... she thinks if she distances herself, it protects you and Mirella. She’s trying to be a martyr."Kaelen let out a sharp, jagged breath. "I don't need a martyr. I need her. She thinks she’s helping by backing away, but she’s just giving Riley a clear

Arianna stepped off the train and exhaled slowly, letting the tension of the journey bleed out of her shoulders. It had been a long one — longer than usual. Spring had barely announced itself, and already the season had caused enough trouble. Flooding along several stretches of track had forced the service onto an alternate route, adding nearly two hours to what should have been a straightforward journey home. She had sat through it all with her eyes fixed on the passing landscape, telling herself that rest was the only thing on her agenda now. No calls, no case files, no thinking about any of it.That resolve lasted exactly as long as it took her to board the bus.She found a seat near the middle and had barely settled when the conversation drifting from the row in front of her caught her attention. Two women, both middle-aged, were speaking in that particular tone people use when they are certain a story is worth telling — animated, slightly indignant, leaning toward each other."Th

The white noise of the high-security lab was a constant, humming presence, but to Kaelen, it felt like a physical weight pressing against his eardrums. He stood at the center of a glass-walled containment unit, his hands steady as he calibrated a series of precision injectors, but his eyes were hollow. He looked like a man who hadn't slept in a week, mostly because he hadn't. Around him, a dozen other world-class researchers moved with clinical efficiency. They were all wearing pressurized suits, looking like ghosts in the sterile, blue-tinted light. Kaelen was at the forefront of this entire operation, his mind being the crucial engine driving the project forward. They were currently in the middle of the most significant trial yet: trying to replicate the specific genetic sequence responsible for the radical cellular regeneration they’d seen in the original test subject. The target was a chimp, a massive male currently sedated in a reinforced titanium cage. If the gene-splicing w

The lobby of the Novax headquarters was still vibrating with the silent, heavy tension of Mirella being wheeled toward the exit when a sudden, violent commotion erupted at the main entrance. The sound of shouting and the rhythmic thud of heavy boots on the polished floorboards cut through the quiet like a gunshot. Jonah’s head snapped toward the noise, his instincts on high alert as he saw a bunch of armed men trying to force their way past the heavy sliding glass doors.These weren't common street thugs or random protesters; they were wearing professional tactical gear, moving with a disciplined aggression that suggested they were high-end private security. However, the Novax company security team weren't exactly slouches either. Kaelen had spent millions ensuring that his headquarters was a fortress, and within seconds, his guards had formed a defensive line, their hands hovering over their holsters as they blocked the path of the intruders."