The Grand Atrium of the Meridian Institute was a soaring cathedral of steel, smoked glass, and polished white marble. Under the warm glow of towering crystal chandeliers, two hundred of the upper district’s elite, including politicians, corporate titans, and wealthy benefactors, mingled across the room. Classical violin music drifted through the air, mixing with the clink of champagne flutes and the hum of polite conversation.Outside, heavy rain lashed against the reinforced glass dome overhead. Inside, everything was immaculate, warm, and entirely blind to the horrors hidden in the concrete sub-levels beneath their feet.Jeremy stood near the shadow of a massive marble pillar on the upper mezzanine, dressed in a tailored black tuxedo. His bow tie was straight, and his hair was combed back, but his posture remained tense, like a predator waiting to strike. His right hand, covered by a thin dark leather glove to conceal the permanent black scar across his palm, rested at his side, inc

The dim amber light in the secondary holding alcove seemed to close in around them, making every breath feel heavy. Outside the velvet curtain, the gala continued in all its polished grandeur, with the soft strains of a cello mixing with laughter and the clinking of champagne glasses.Inside the alcove, the only sound was the faint hum of the tactical tablet in Jeremy's hand.The monochrome feed flickered as the optical sensors adjusted to the changing floodlights in subterranean staging bay B-4. The young man, Subject E-17, slowly turned away from the scarred Duskscale commander.For the first time since the investigation began, he stepped directly beneath the central light.The camera had a clear, unobstructed view of his face.The room seemed to tilt.He didn't just share the Raven bloodline. He looked almost exactly like Evelyn Raven. The high cheekbones, the sharp arch of his brows, and the quiet confidence in his movements reminded Jeremy of their mother. It was as if someone ha