2025-12-12 22:32:32
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The Celebration
The new medical center occupied a converted warehouse in London's East End. What had once been industrial space was now a facility that combined free clinic services with training programs for survivors who wanted to learn healing professions.James stood at the entrance, watching guests arrive for the opening celebration. Three months had passed since the Ashcroft empire's collapse, and tonight was about acknowledging how far they'd all come.Dr. Kenji Tanaka arrived first, flying in from Tokyo where he maintained both his underground clinic and a new partnership with the Sterling Foundation. He embraced James like the brother he'd never had."The space is impressive," Tanaka said, surveying the facility. "Training rooms, medical equipment, living quarters for students. You've built something permanent.""We've built something permanent," James corrected. "This is all of ours."Dr. Ana Silva arrived with her daughter Mariana, who'd become the unofficial mascot of their survivor commu
The Reckoning
The evidence hit like a coordinated strike across every major platform simultaneously. WikiLeaks published the documents. Major newspapers ran front-page spreads. Network television interrupted regular programming for breaking news.The client lists were devastating.European royalty who'd maintained their health through physicians who were children. Oligarchs who'd purchased medical care from teenagers held captive. Politicians who'd received treatments from doctors who couldn't refuse them. CEOs, celebrities, criminals—hundreds of names across four decades.James watched the news coverage from the safe house with Elena beside him. Every channel showed the same images: police raids, arrest warrants, resignations under pressure."Three governments have fallen in the past week," Marcus reported via video call. "Ministers implicated in covering up the program. More investigations launching daily. Fifteen countries have opened formal inquiries."The Ashcroft family assets were frozen wit
The Escape
James pushed the filing cabinet aside with strength born from desperation. Behind it, exactly where memory promised, was a door. Not modern steel, but old wood reinforced with iron bands—centuries old, forgotten by everyone except the boy who'd been desperate enough to find it."This leads to service tunnels," James said, pulling the door open. Cold air rushed out, carrying the smell of stone and darkness. "Built for servants in the 1700s. The Ashcrofts stopped maintaining them decades ago.""Will they hold?" Cole asked, already moving toward the entrance."They held fifteen years ago. That's the best I can promise."They descended single file. Cole led with a tactical flashlight, James behind him guiding their path, then Elena, with Yuki protecting the hard drives in a waterproof bag at the rear.The tunnel was narrow enough that James had to turn sideways in places. Stone walls pressed close on either side. The ceiling dropped until they were crouching, then crawling through section
The Heist
Cole spread building schematics across the hotel suite table. The Ashcroft Estate blueprint showed a fortress disguised as luxury."Vault is here," Cole said, pointing to a section marked only as "Storage B." "Subterranean level, three biometric locks, reinforced walls. They built it to survive everything from theft to nuclear war."James stared at the plans. "You're proposing we break into a Swiss estate, bypass security systems, and steal records from an impenetrable vault.""Yes," Cole said simply."That's completely illegal.""Also yes."Elena stepped forward. "The legal system has failed. Lady Victoria's out on bail. The other family members fled to countries that won't extradite. Those eight children we rescued? The Ashcrofts' lawyers are already arguing for their return, claiming parental rights through acquisition contracts.""Acquisition contracts aren't legal—""They are in certain jurisdictions," Marcus interrupted from his seat. "The Ashcrofts have been building legal fram
The Exposure
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
The Coalition
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
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