Alexander stands in front of the screen, his sharp eyes staring at the image of the cryo-stasis tube. His jawline tightens, while his clenched fist resting on the worktable causes delicate cracks to form on the glass surface.
"Alex..." Olivia’s voice trembles. She steps closer to Alexander, her still-bandaged hand reaching for his fingers. "Is that Julian?"
Alexander slowly turns his head. In his eyes, there’s a burning anger mixed with exhaustion from the battle at Grossmünster Cathedral. "Julian never intends to die on that cruise ship, Olivia. He makes his body a vessel for synthetic toxin research developed by the black market labs."
"But the ship sinks!" Olivia interrupts, fear creeping back into her soul. She glances toward the bed, where Ethan and Stella are still sleeping soundly, wrapped close together. "You saw it yourself—dragged to the bottom of the ocean!"
"The submarine that pulls him up has military-grade specifications," Daniel steps forward, his eyes busy scanning sonar data on his tablet. "That belongs to a Southeast Asian medical crime syndicate. Julian let himself sink to perfectly fake his death for both of them in front of international law."
Alexander takes a deep breath, then turns and embraces Olivia’s shoulders. He looks into her eyes with warmth that contrasts with the tense atmosphere of the room. "Whatever is behind that submarine, they will never touch you or the kids again. I swear it."
Olivia nods slowly, resting her forehead on Alexander’s chest, breathing in his masculine scent that always gives her strength. But behind that brief moment of peace, new dangers in Southeast Asia start to tighten their grip.
A few days later.
Ethan and Stella sit side by side in the passenger seats, drawing on their digital tablets under Daniel’s watchful eye. For the first time in five years, the twins can laugh together without the shadow of guards or poison threats looming over them.
In the back of the cabin, Olivia stands near the window, gazing at the vast blue ocean and green islands stretching out beneath. A light coat wraps around her recovering body.
Alexander walks from the cockpit, wrapping his arms around Olivia’s waist from behind. He presses his face into her neck, enjoying the softness of her skin, which always ignites his protective instinct.
"We’re entering Jakarta airspace," Alexander whispers low, his lips tracing the sharp jawline of Olivia.
Olivia tilts her head, savoring Alexander’s touch that now feels so natural. "Why Indonesia, Alex? Weren’t Vanguard’s networks stronger in Europe?"
"Exactly because Vanguard doesn’t stand out here," Alexander replies, turning Olivia to face him. His fingers gently smooth her hair. "The black market syndicate thinks we’re hiding in North America under Swiss government protection. They don’t suspect we’re tracking Julian’s signals directly to his operation center in Southeast Asia."
"You’re hunting, not hiding," Olivia guesses, her gaze meeting Alexander’s silver eyes with understanding.
Alexander just smiles softly, lowers his head, and kisses Olivia’s lips with deep warmth—a reaffirmation that he’s no longer the cold man fighting for redemption, but a father and husband risking everything for his family’s future.
That night, Jakarta welcomes heavy rain that soaks the streets. Neon lights from skyscrapers reflect on the wet asphalt.
An exclusive penthouse in the SCBD district becomes their new command center. Through the floor-to-ceiling glass windows, the city’s grandeur sprawls beneath the cover of night.
After ensuring Ethan and Stella sleep soundly in the main bedroom, secured by tight biometric security, Olivia steps out onto the balcony. The warm, humid tropical air touches her skin, offering a stark contrast to Zurich’s cold snow.
Alexander stands in the corner of the balcony, wearing a black shirt with sleeves rolled to his elbows, revealing muscle tone and a thin bandage on his left arm. In his hand, he holds a document analyzing the frequency signals recently received from the local intelligence team.
Olivia approaches, leaning her head on his chest. Alexander hugs her waist without taking his eyes off the document.
"Any new developments?" Olivia asks softly.
"The signal transmitter from Julian’s cryo-stasis tube points to a private island in the Thousand Islands area," Alexander responds, his voice low and calculated. "The island is registered under a local pharmaceutical company, Nusantara Bio-Tech."
"Who’s the owner?"
Alexander flips through the pages, showing a photo of a middle-aged Indonesian man in a sleek suit with a sharp face and piercing eyes.
"Christian Wijaya," he says. "A prominent Southeast Asian pharmaceutical businessman who’s been Julian’s main financial supporter for the past three years."
Olivia gapes in surprise. "Christian Wijaya? That’s the main business partner of the Carter family in Asia!"
Alexander narrows his eyes. "Christian’s involvement isn’t just a coincidence, Olivia. He’s the mastermind behind Victoria Ashford’s escape and the one who forged Julian’s identity documents on the black market."
Before Olivia can process this new information, Daniel quickly steps out onto the balcony with a tense look.
"Alex, we’ve got an emergency signal disruption on our northern sea perimeter radar," Daniel says, handing over a scan of the radar screen.
A luxury yacht speeds into a private dock in northern Jakarta. The remote CCTV scan from Vanguard captures a woman in a red dress stepping off the boat, escorted by a dozen armed men with guns.
The woman removes her sunglasses, staring directly at the hidden camera, as if fully aware she’s being watched.
Olivia holds her breath. "Victoria—she survived the Sovereign shipwreck?"
"Not only that," Daniel grits his teeth. "Intelligence confirms Victoria just bought the majority shares of Nusantara Bio-Tech using illicit funds from the Ashford clan!"
Alexander hands his document to Daniel, then pulls Olivia back into the penthouse. The glass balcony door slides shut tightly, sealing them off from the tropical rain outside.
"Victoria and Christian are teaming up," Alexander says coldly, checking silenced weapons on the worktable. "They’re planning to perfect Julian’s synthetic toxin using new blood samples to be mass-produced at the Kepulauan Seribu lab."
"What do we do, Alex?" Olivia asks, voice steady and fearless.
"We destroy that facility before the toxin leaves the island," Alexander declares.
But just as Alexander heads toward the tactical room, all the screens—TVs and communication monitors—suddenly light up simultaneously with mysterious signals.
Live broadcast signals cut off all local and international channels in Jakarta.
The screens show footage from inside a grand ballroom filled with hundreds of executives and officials. On the main stage, Christian Wijaya stands beside Victoria Ashford, who smiles arrogantly in front of dozens of journalists.
"Good evening, distinguished guests," Christian’s voice echoes clearly through the speakers. "Tonight, Nusantara Bio-Tech officially launches its latest cellular regeneration supplement that will revolutionize medicine."
Victoria steps up to the microphone, offering a venomous smile, staring straight into the camera.
"And to prove the superiority of our medical technology," she continues sweetly, "we have invited a very special guest who just arrived from London."
The camera shifts to the ballroom entrance, opening wide.
Two guards push a wheelchair across the red carpet. Sitting in the wheelchair is a young boy dressed neatly in a black suit. The boy has the same face, hair color, and brown eyes as Ethan!
Olivia screams hysterically, rushing forward and smashing the glass table. "ETHAN?! HOW IS ETHAN HERE?!"
If the boy in the bedroom is Ethan, then who is the coldly smiling boy on the wheelchair during the live broadcast?
The boy on the wheelchair opens his mouth, whispering words without sound, which are clearly readable on his lips through the monitor:
"Hello, dady Alexander. Your first biological clone is ready."