Chapter 35 - The Extraction Protocol
Heinrich’s lips curled into a thin, predatory smirk. "Arthur was a sentimental fool. He had the greatest pharmaceutical discovery of the century and refused to commercialize it because of 'ethical boundaries.' Do you know what the synthetic enzyme in your infant's blood is worth to the global elite? It is immortality, Clara. It is trillions of dollars."
"It's a toxic gene sequence," I countered calmly. "My father left the true unedited lab logs in his private vault. The enzyme does halt cellular decay—for seventy-two hours. Then it causes total vascular collapse in ninety-nine percent of biological hosts. He didn't lock it away to protect profits, Heinrich. He locked it away because it was a lethal, unstable pathogen."
Victoria's face drained of color. "That’s a lie. Julian confirmed the clinical trials in Berlin—"
"Julian can’t read an income statement, let alone a genetic assay!" I snapped, my eyes piercing through her. "Julian read what my father wanted your corporate spies to steal. He fed you bait, and you spent two hundred million dollars chasing a biological phantom."
Heinrich’s cold demeanor finally cracked. His knuckles whitened against the edge of the conference table. "Even if the sequence is unstable, the raw sequencing inside that child’s bone marrow is the baseline formula. Hand the child over to our medical escort, Mrs. Vance, or you will not leave this floor alive."
With a single gesture of Heinrich’s hand, the four discreet doors along the boardroom wall slid open. Eight private military contractors clad in tactical gear stepped through, submachine guns leveled at Dominic and my security team.
"Drop your weapons," Heinrich ordered Dominic softly. "Or I will have them take the child from her dead arms."
Noah stirred against my chest, letting out a small, fretful whimper. I looked down, brushing my fingers across his soft, warm cheek.
"You really should have checked the digital registry of this building before you scheduled your clandestine summit here, Heinrich," I said, my voice dead calm.
Dominic didn't drop his weapon. Instead, he pulled a small black remote from his coat and hit the primary toggle.
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Instantly, the heavy blast doors on every exit slammed shut with a deafening hydraulic screech. Red emergency lights bathed the opulent room in crimson.
"Building lockdown initiated," the automated PA system announced overhead. "Containment protocol active. Federal Bureau of Investigation tactical teams have entered the lobby."
