TRASH TO TITAN

Chapter 4: The Blood Key

The storm rolled in just before dawn silent, creeping, cold. Inside Vallion Estate One, the walls were too thick to feel it, but Aiden knew. He felt it in the pressure behind his eyes. The air had changed. The Scorpion Protocol had been activated. Someone out there was hunting him.

And if the dossier was right, they wouldn't stop until he was buried legacy and all. Down in the heart of the estate, past coded doors and biometric scanners, Veylor led Aiden into an older wing of the fortress. This part of the structure looked different. Ancient stone floors. Iron-bound doors. Dust, untouched by modern hands.

Aiden could feel the weight of history. “This is where your father hid what mattered most,” Veylor said. “Not money. Not weapons. Knowledge.” They reached a small metal panel embedded into the wall. No buttons. No screen. Veylor nodded toward it. “Your fingerprint won’t work. Nor your voice. It needs a drop of your blood.”

Aiden raised an eyebrow. “Seriously?” Veylor handed him a thin blade. “You are the bloodline. The last Vallion.” Aiden pressed the blade to his finger and let a single drop fall on the panel. The metal shimmered, glowed red, then pulled back with a soft hiss. Behind it was an ancient elevator brass and steel, moving silently downward.

As they descended, dim amber lights flickered along the shaft. Veylor stood beside him, arms crossed. “There are secrets here even I’ve never seen.” “How deep does it go?” Aiden asked.

Veylor answered without looking. “To the center of the world.” The chamber they entered was more like a cathedral than a vault. Vaulted ceilings. Stone columns. A mosaic of the Vallion crest on the floor serpent and crown entwined. Dozens of locked drawers, sealed crates, maps, and glowing glass cases. A single pedestal stood at the far end, encased in glass.

Aiden stepped closer. Inside the glass sat a small black book bound in dragonhide. The Vallion Codex. His hand hovered over it, but Veylor’s voice stopped him. “Once you touch it… you’re no longer just a man. You’re the axis on which nations pivot.”

Aiden nodded and pressed his palm to the case. The glass dissolved into dust. He opened the Codex. Inside were names. Maps. Coordinates. And symbols. Names of presidents, warlords, CEOs. Each marked with statuses: “Owned,” “Compromised,” “Dead,” “Rogue.” But one page made Aiden freeze.

PROJECT GEMINI

Subject: JACEN CROSS

Status: CLASSIFIED – RED LEVEL

Relation: Twin

Aiden's throat went dry. He kept reading. Jacen was born minutes after you. Removed from your mother’s arms under direct Vallion orders. He was raised under a separate identity, off-grid, in preparation for succession. But when your father changed his mind deciding you had the heart and Jacen the hunger Project Gemini was terminated.

There were no death records. No burial. Just: "Status Unknown." “Why wasn’t I told?” Aiden asked aloud, voice shaking. Veylor read the page silently, then looked at Aiden. “Because your brother may still be alive.”

Back upstairs, Aiden sat alone in the war room, the Codex laid open before him. His mind was spinning about Jacen, the inheritance, the enemies watching from the shadows. Then came the alert.

BREACH ATTEMPT DETECTED – ZONE 12 – SW RIDGE Maera’s voice came through his earpiece. “Sir, we have movement. Drones spotted a team inbound.” Aiden stood. “Who are they?” “No insignia. Military-grade equipment. They're coming fast.” “Scorpion?” “Likely.”

Aiden’s hands curled into fists. “Then we send a message.” The defense system in Vallion Estate One wasn’t designed to protect a home. It was built to defend an empire.

Within minutes, Aiden gave his first official command. “Lock down the perimeter. I want eyes on every target. Capture one alive.” He watched the assault team descend through the trees stealth suits, suppressed rifles. But they didn’t expect automated sentries built into the cliff face. They didn’t expect EMP charges disabling their gear. They didn’t expect him.

When the dust settled, four men lay unconscious. One remained standing until he was shot in the leg and tackled by Vallion security. An hour later, the captured man sat restrained in an interrogation chamber. Aiden stood on the other side of the glass, watching him. His face was masked. But something was off. “Remove the mask,” Aiden said. They did. And his blood ran cold. The man looked just like him. Only colder. Sharper. Twisted.

“Sir,” Maera whispered, stepping beside him. “We ran his DNA. It’s… nearly identical. The figure on the other side looked up slowly. Locked eyes with$ Aiden. And smiled. “Hello, brother.”