The heavy, double oak doors clicked shut behind Damien Vance and Evelyn Vance, sealing them inside the echoing silence of the ancestral hall.
The warm light from the grand crystal chandeliers did not reach the deep, dark corners of the dusty corridors.
Outside, the rain continued to beat furiously against the tall, arched windows, sounding like distant gunfire.
Damien Vance gripped Evelyn Vance’s hand, leading her past the towering oil painting of his grandfather.
Their shoes clicked softly against the cold marble floor as they walked toward the heavy double doors of the central study at the end of the hall.
Captain Leo Chang followed closely behind, his tactical rifle raised in a defensive posture, his eyes scanning every shadow.
Damien Vance pushed the doors open.
The air inside the vast, circular study was thick with the scent of aged leather, dried paper, and a sharp, metallic ozone smell.
Sitting in a high-backed leather wing chair by the cold stone fireplace was a fragile, elderly man.
His face was deeply wrinkled, but his dark, intelligent eyes flashed with the exact same ruthless steel as Damien’s.
A complex array of clear medical tubes ran from a large, huming chrome life-support machine directly into his chest.
At the heart of the life-support machine, a small, polished shard of Verdant Jade-9 pulsed with a rhythmic, brilliant green light, casting an eerie glow across the old man’s pale skin.
Old Master Vance smiled, his thin lips stretching over his teeth.
Old Master Vance said to Damien Vance, “You look just like your father, Damien.
But you lack his obedience.”
Damien Vance did not hesitate.
He raised his sleek black handgun with a steady hand, aiming it directly between his grandfather’s eyes.
Damien Vance said to Old Master Vance, “You faked your death five years ago to run an international syndicate of terrorists.
You are no grandfather of mine.”
Old Master Vance chuckled softly, the sound dry and rattling like dead leaves in the wind.
Old Master Vance said to Damien Vance, “You always did have your father’s stubborn pride, Damien.
But lower your weapon.
You cannot kill the man who gave you everything.”
Evelyn Vance stepped forward, her pale hand clutching the faded leather journal of her mother, Dr.
Diana Ross.
Her eyes were fixed on the glowing green shard inside the life-support machine, feeling a strange warmth radiating from it.
Evelyn Vance said to Old Master Vance, “You used my mother’s brilliant research to build your empire.
Why?”
Old Master Vance turned his cold, calculating gaze toward Evelyn.
Old Master Vance said to Evelyn Vance, “Your mother was a genius, Evelyn.
But you have been fed nothing but romantic fairy tales.
Dr.
Diana Ross did not build the Genesis Core to save the world’s economy or clean up the environment.
She built it for one reason only: to keep you alive.”
Evelyn Vance froze, her breath catching in her throat as she stared at the elderly man in absolute confusion.
Evelyn Vance said to Old Master Vance, “What are you talking about?
My mother built the core as a limitless energy source.”
Old Master Vance leaned forward, the clear tubes rattling against his chest as the life-support machine hissed.
Old Master Vance said to Evelyn Vance, “Twenty years ago, you were born with a rare, fatal genetic blood disease.
Your cellular structure was collapsing.
Your mother used the unique radiation frequency of Verdant Jade-9 to restructure your DNA.
She built the Genesis Core as a massive biological pacemaker.
The bio-resonance lock is not just a safety switch, Evelyn.
Your physical blood is permanently synchronized with the core’s frequency.
If the Genesis Core is destroyed or permanently shut down, your heart will stop beating within minutes.”
Evelyn Vance felt a cold dread wash over her body.
She looked down at her bleeding left palm, wrapped in the white handkerchief.
Suddenly, she felt a strange, rhythmic throbbing deep inside her chest, perfectly matching the distant, low vibration of the earth below.
Evelyn Vance said to Damien Vance, “Damien…
he is telling the truth.
I can feel the energy vibration pulsing inside my chest.
It is connected to me.”
Damien Vance’s jaw clenched tightly.
He did not let the old man’s words shake his resolve.
But I will find another way to cure her.
Your reign ends tonight.”
Damien Vance turned his head slightly toward his head of security, who was standing quietly in the shadows near the entrance of the study.
Damien Vance said to Captain Leo Chang, “Leo, terminate him now.”
The sharp, mechanical sound of an assault rifle being raised echoed through the silent study.
But Captain Leo Chang did not aim at the old man in the chair.
He stepped forward and pointed the cold steel barrel of his weapon directly at the back of Damien Vance’s head.
Evelyn Vance gasped in horror, stepping back against the mahogany desk.
Evelyn Vance said to Captain Leo Chang, “Leo!
What are you doing?
Damien trusted you with his life!”
Captain Leo Chang kept his weapon perfectly steady, his face completely expressionless in the dim red light.
Captain Leo Chang said to Damien Vance, “Forgive me, Mr.
Vance.
But the Old Master has always been my true employer.
He funded my training, he placed me in your family twenty years ago, and my loyalty has always belonged to the creator of the Vance legacy.”
Old Master Vance smiled widely, pressing a small black button on the armrest of his leather chair.
Before Damien Vance could turn around or react, heavy, hidden titanium handcuffs shot out from the armrests of a secondary steel chair right behind him.
The mechanical restraints clamped violently around Damien Vance’s wrists and ankles, locking him securely to the heavy steel frame.
Damien Vance strained against the metal, the thick titanium refusing to budge even a millimeter.
Damien Vance said to Captain Leo Chang, “You traitor.
I will rip you apart with my bare hands.”
Old Master Vance slowly stood up from his chair, dragging his rolling chrome life-support machine along with him.
He reached into a medical cabinet on his desk and pulled out a long, gleaming silver syringe filled with a dark, glowing green fluid.
Old Master Vance said to Evelyn Vance, “Your blood is the ultimate biological key, Evelyn.
I do not need the digital codes anymore.
I only need a single vial of your blood to unlock the core forever.”
Old Master Vance stepped toward Evelyn Vance, raising the silver syringe as Captain Leo Chang kept his rifle aimed at Damien’s head.
Evelyn Vance backed away, her back pressing hard against the cold glass window.