Chapter 5
The high-pitched whine from the operative's device cut through the tense silence of the dining room. Julian stumbled back, clutching his chest where the invisible pulse had struck him, though there was no physical wound. His legs buckled slightly, and he caught himself against the edge of the mahogany sideboard.
"What did you do to him?" Elena cried out, her voice cracking as she half-rose from the floor, keeping Lily tucked securely behind her legs. "Julian! Julian, look at me!"
Julian blinked heavily, his vision swimming for a fraction of a second before the artificial clarity of the pulse cleared his mind with terrifying precision. "I'm... I'm fine," he panted, though his skin had taken on a grayish pallor. He stared down at his hands, watching his veins momentarily flash a faint, bioluminescent green beneath his skin. "My telemetry... they're downloading my neural map."
The lead operative lowered the cylindrical device, the device's light shifting from amber to a solid, cold blue. "Neural synchronization complete. Subject Vance holds the master encryption keys. The child's exposure was accidental, but the biological interface is now successfully established."
"She's seven years old!" Elena screamed, all restraint finally shattering as she lunged forward, putting herself between Julian and the operatives. "Take me! Take the house, take the money, take everything we own! Leave my daughter alone!"
The operative didn't flinch. "Asset value is determined by genetic adaptability, Mrs. Vance. The green compound—Formulation 9—does not react to adult cellular structures. It bonds exclusively with developing nervous systems. Your daughter is not a casualty of an accident. She is the final variable."
Lily whimpered, clutching a fold of Elena's dress in her small fist. "Mommy, make them go away. My arm hurts."
Elena froze. Slowly, she looked down at Lily's left arm, right where the child had been leaning against the marble table when the liquid splashed. A faint, intricate pattern of green lines, resembling delicate fern leaves, was visible just beneath the skin of Lily's forearm, glowing softly through the white fabric of her dress.
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Julian saw it, too. He let out a choked sound of absolute horror, taking a step toward his daughter before the lead operative raised a hand to block his path.
"Don't touch her," the operative warned coldly. "The transfer has begun. If you interrupt the bio-link now, the child's nervous system will permanently liquefy within ninety seconds."
