Chapter 6 - The Lion’s DenThe underground command center beneath Blackthorne House looked like something straight out of a military thriller. Multi-screen monitors flickered with live satellite feeds of New York Harbor, thermal scans of the estate's perimeter, and encrypted financial ledgers tracing shell corporations across the Cayman Islands.
Mara stood before the central console, wearing a dark tactical turtleneck and cargo pants provided by security, her injured shoulder tightly strapped to minimize movement. Though the physical pain still flared with every sudden motion, her mind was razor-sharp, fueled by adrenaline and cold vengeance.
Dominic stood beside her, arms crossed over his chest, watching as his chief tech operative decrypted the burner phone left with the blood-stained package.
"We cracked the geo-tagging data from the burner's last outgoing transmission," the tech specialist announced, tapping a series of keys. "The signal bounced through three proxy servers in Manhattan before terminating at an abandoned private airfield in Queens owned by Aegis Biotech."
Mara narrowed her eyes. "Aegis Biotech. That was the primary shell company created by the board members who ousted my father."
"They're still operating under our noses," Dominic murmured, his voice dropping into a dangerous hum. "Using pharmaceutical research as a front for black-market biomedical trafficking and syndicate financing." He turned his slate-gray eyes to Mara. "Your father was planning to expose their illegal drug trials before his plane went down, wasn't he?"
"He found out they were testing experimental immunosuppressants on unconsenting human subjects in overseas clinics," Mara confirmed, her jaw tightening. "He threatened to hand the evidence over to the federal authorities. That's why they murdered him, my mother, and my younger brother."
The room went dead silent. Even the hardened security operatives stopped what they were doing, feeling the sudden, suffocating drop in atmospheric pressure as Dominic Mercer absorbed the weight of her words.
When Dominic spoke, his voice was no longer that of a syndicate boss protecting his family—it was the voice of an executioner pronouncing a death sentence.
"Vance," Dominic called out without turning around.
"Boss?"
"Prepare the Gulfstream. We're paying a visit to Aegis Biotech." Dominic turned his gaze back to Mara, his expression softening just a fraction, filled with a lethal, shared understanding. "Are you ready to take back your name, Elena?"
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Mara pulled the slide of a suppressed 9mm pistol back, hearing the satisfying clack of a round chambering. She slipped the weapon into her holster, her eyes burning with cold fire.
"I was born ready," she said.
