2026-07-28 18:51:36
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Desmond stared at the monitor.Adrian's voice continued playing."Miranda Cross must be eliminated before the child is transferred. If she survives, he will eventually learn the truth."The recording ended.For several seconds, nobody moved.Then Desmond slowly turned toward Alexander."Explain."Alexander shook his head."I didn't know about that recording.""Your signature is on the original order. Adrian's name is on the second directive. My mother was marked for termination. And you expect me to believe you know nothing?""I'm telling you what I know.""Then tell me why Adrian wanted her dead."Alexander looked at the screen."I don't know."Desmond raised his pistol."Wrong answer.""Desmond, listen to me. That recording could have been edited. It could have been taken out of context. You need to consider the possibility that someone is deliberately turning you against Adrian.""Why would anyone need to? You just told me he was ordered to kill me.""And he refused!""Then why was
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Desmond kept his pistol aimed at Alexander Cross.For a moment, he wondered whether he had heard correctly."Repeat that."Alexander stopped several feet away."Adrian Vale was ordered to kill you."The words seemed to drain the air from the corridor.Behind the glass, Miranda covered her mouth. Tears streamed down her face, but she didn't look surprised.That troubled Desmond more than anything else."You expect me to believe the man who raised me was ordered to kill me?""I'm telling you what happened.""And you expect me to believe you?""No. I expect you to demand proof."Desmond tightened his grip on the pistol."Good. Because that's exactly what I'm going to do."Alexander glanced at the weapon."You can lower that. If I wanted you dead, you wouldn't have made it past the outer gate.""That's supposed to reassure me?""No. It's supposed to make you understand that I have had opportunities to kill you, and I haven't taken them.""Perhaps you need me alive."Alexander's eyes narro
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Desmond watched the video again.This time, he ignored Gerald's injuries and Jasmine's frightened expression. He focused on the woman reflected in the window behind them.Dark hair. A scar above her left eyebrow. A silver ring bearing three overlapping circles around a black square.Miranda Cross.His mother.If the woman in the reflection was truly Miranda, she had been standing close enough to watch Gerald and Jasmine being held captive.Yet she had sent him a message instead of helping them.Desmond stopped the video."Chairman, I need the original recording."Claire, who had been examining the phone, shook her head. "This is the original file. But the message passed through several encrypted servers. I can trace the last server, not the person who sent it.""Do it.""I'm already working on it."Desmond turned toward Marcus."How many people knew Gerald and Jasmine were staying here?""Only a few. You, me, Gerald, Jasmine, and the people who helped us move them.""List every one of
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The impact against the archive door came again.Desmond tightened his grip on the pistol he had taken from one of the attackers. His eyes remained fixed on the black screen where Adrian Vale’s face had appeared moments earlier.The people who raised you weren't your real family.And the man who ordered your recovery is your father.The words refused to settle in his mind.For years, he had believed he understood his own life. He knew the people who had raised him, the man who had taught him to fight, and the circumstances that had forced him to become the person he was.Now, a single recording had turned everything upside down."Play it again," Desmond ordered.Chairman shook his head. "The recording has ended.""Then find another copy.""Desmond—""Find it!"His voice cracked across the room.Victor Hale exchanged a glance with Claire. Neither spoke.Desmond turned on Chairman."You knew Adrian Vale. You knew about Sanctum. You knew someone had been searching for me all these years.
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The impact against the archive door came again.Desmond tightened his grip on the pistol he had taken from one of the attackers. His eyes remained fixed on the black screen where Adrian Vale’s face had appeared moments earlier.The people who raised you weren't your real family.And the man who ordered your recovery is your father.The words refused to settle in his mind.For years, he had believed he understood his own life. He knew the people who had raised him, the man who had taught him to fight, and the circumstances that had forced him to become the person he was.Now, a single recording had turned everything upside down."Play it again," Desmond ordered.Chairman shook his head. "The recording has ended.""Then find another copy.""Desmond—""Find it!"His voice cracked across the room.Victor Hale exchanged a glance with Claire. Neither spoke.Desmond turned on Chairman."You knew Adrian Vale. You knew about Sanctum. You knew someone had been searching for me all these years.
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Darkness swallowed the passage.For several seconds, nobody moved.Then Claire let out a frightened gasp.“What's happening?”“Stay where you are,” Desmond ordered.He reached for his phone and switched on the flashlight. The narrow beam cut through the darkness, revealing concrete walls, rusted pipes, and the steel door that had just slammed shut behind them.Desmond examined the door.There was no handle on their side.He tried pushing it anyway.Nothing.“Can it be opened?” Victor asked.“Not from here.”The Chairman stood several feet away, staring into the darkness ahead.Desmond turned the flashlight toward him.“You're going to explain everything now.”The older man barely reacted.“Not here.”Desmond stepped closer.“You've said that three times already. Each time, we end up deeper in a situation you knew about before I did.”“I didn't know they would attack the gala.”“But you knew they were coming for me.”“I suspected they would eventually.”“And you still invited me.”The
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