Location; Tavara – Lancaster Holdings Private Archive Room
The cold air inside the archive room bit at Nora's skin despite the temperature control. Damien had insisted on accompanying her, but she needed this moment alone—just her and the truth.
She stood before a locked biometric vault, scanning her retina and entering a code that hadn't been touched in over a decade.
ACCESS GRANTED.
The heavy door hissed open.
Inside, rows of sealed boxes, ledgers, and encrypted drives lined the shelves. A faint scent of aged leather and ink lingered. At the far end of the room sat a singular black folder marked AURELIA VOSS – CLASSIFIED.
Nora's heart pounded. Her mother's file.
She opened it with trembling fingers.
Inside were faded photographs, coded mission logs, and sealed correspondence. Her mother had lived a life far beyond what Nora had ever known—a double life. One marked by assassinations, covert negotiations, and genetic experiments under a clandestine group once affiliated with Argon.
And there—tucked inside a smaller envelope—was a picture of the woman in the velvet dress. Standing beside Aurelia. Smiling.
On the back of the photo, in her mother's handwriting, it read:
"Marion. My sister. Dangerous, brilliant, unforgiving. If you find this—protect Nora from her."
Nora closed her eyes as the wave of revelation crashed into her. The enemy wasn't just an outsider—it was her blood.
---
Downstairs, Damien paced in the foyer, phone pressed to his ear.
"I want a full sweep around the estate—inside and out. No blind spots. And double Nora's security detail," he barked.
Elias' voice crackled on the other end. "Already on it. And Damien… the French facility wasn't just a trap. They left behind blueprints—prototypes of a new biochemical weapon."
Damien's eyes narrowed. "How far along?"
"Days. Maybe hours. They're calling it Project Cerberus. Designed to mimic natural diseases but with programmable targets. Genetically encoded assassination."
Damien clenched his jaw. "We're not just fighting for Nora anymore. This thing could take out entire families, legacies—anyone with a specific DNA pattern."
"I'll alert the global allies. You keep her safe."
---
Later that evening, Nora joined Damien in the study. Her expression was unreadable, her steps slow but determined.
"I found the truth," she said, laying the photo and file on the table. "She wasn't lying. Marion is my aunt. And my mother knew."
Damien stood slowly, reading the note behind the photo.
"You okay?" he asked, gently brushing her cheek.
"I don't know. Everything I believed—my mother's strength, her values—it all makes sense now. She kept secrets not because she didn't trust me, but because she was trying to protect me from becoming… her."
Nora sat down, burying her face in her hands. "And now, I have to become what she feared."
Damien knelt beside her. "You don't have to become anything but yourself. We fight on our terms, Nora. Not theirs."
She looked at him, eyes brimming but fierce. "No more running. Marion wants a war? I'll give her one."
---
That night, Elias arrived at Silverbridge with a new recruit—a woman with short silver hair, sharp eyes, and the air of someone who had danced with death and survived.
"This is Kaela Varin," Elias said. "She's ex-Argon. Defected five years ago. She knows Marion better than anyone."
Kaela nodded. "I was her student. Her shadow. Until I saw what she truly was."
Nora raised an eyebrow. "Why help us now?"
Kaela stepped forward. "Because I know how she thinks. And because Marion has activated her kill protocol. You're not just a target—she's sent her deadliest weapon after you."
"Who?" Damien asked.
Kaela's voice was a whisper. "Unit X. Codename: Umbra. The one assassin even Argon fears."
---
Meanwhile…
In a stone-walled monastery on the outskirts of Austria, Marion stood before a kneeling figure in black.
"You will find her. You will dismantle everything she loves. And you will not stop until Nora Voss bleeds."
The figure looked up, revealing a mask etched with symbols. Their voice was cold, robotic, deadly.
"As you command."