Location: Tavara – Blackstone Intelligence Bunker
The lights in the underground bunker flickered as Victor paced in front of a digital wall covered with surveillance feeds and decrypted files. His team worked in synchronized urgency—Archer's move on Project Ember meant they were running out of time.
"What exactly is Ember?" Nora asked, standing beside him, arms folded.
Victor didn't respond immediately. He turned to face her, his expression tight. "It's a contingency weapon. One my mother created in case the Kane family ever tried to erase her completely. Ember contains confidential data, alliance codes, classified ownership blueprints—everything the Kanes used to consolidate global power... and everything they kept hidden."
Nora's eyes widened. "Then why are we only finding out about it now?"
"Because my mother trusted no one," Victor replied. "Not even me—until now."
Damien leaned in from behind a console. "Archer's agents are sweeping through the old Kane data centers in London and Cairo. If they get their hands on Ember's full files…"
"They won't," Victor said coldly. "We'll burn them before they do."
A moment later, Elena burst into the room, holding a USB stick. "Encrypted. Straight from the vault. And there's more—letters from Elandra addressed to her remaining bloodline."
Victor narrowed his eyes. "Remaining?"
Elena nodded. "Your mother had a younger brother. Kael Vael. Went off-grid twenty years ago after a mission in Prague. He's alive—and Archer's looking for him."
Victor took the stick. "Find him before Archer does. He could be the key to unlocking Ember."
Suddenly, an alarm blared. Damien read the alert. "Nora's hospital records were leaked to a high-bidder forum on the dark web. Someone knows about her regenerative DNA strain."
Nora's heart dropped. "That's not just a leak. That's a death sentence."
Victor's voice turned sharp. "Double her security. From this point on, no one moves without my say-so."
But even as they prepared to lock down their positions, far away in a hidden outpost, Archer stood before a massive holographic projection of Victor and Nora.
"They think they can stop destiny?" he whispered to the man beside him.
The figure in shadows stepped forward—it was Kael Vael.
"They don't even know I've already chosen a side," Kael said with a smirk.