CHAPTER 40
Andre's POV
"I don't want to eat any cookies Grandma! I want to be with Mama and Papa!"
Andre's small fists pounded against the arm of the velvet chair, his face red with stubborn fury. His grandmother, calm but weary, tried to soothe him. "Andre, darling, your mother and father are busy. They're keeping you safe." "I don't want safe!" he shouted, tears welling in his eyes. "I want them!" His voice cracked, his little chest heaving. "They promised they'd never leave me again…"
The words sliced through the room like a blade. For all his childish tantrums, his pain was real, raw. His grandmother pulled him into her arms, but he wriggled away, stomping toward the window. "If they don't come back soon, I'll run away and find them myself!"
Dami's POV
Meanwhile, across the mansion, the air was thick with tension. Desmond spread a set of blueprints across the long mahogany table in the war room, his expression grim. I leaned over, tracing the layout of the old biotech facility Alexei had revealed.
"She's fortified the eastern wing," Desmond muttered, pointing to a cluster of red-marked zones. "Thermal scans show increased activity there. That's where she's hiding the prototype." "Which means she knows we're coming," I replied. My jaw tightened. "She'll be waiting."
Desmond met my gaze, unflinching. "We don't have the luxury of time. Alexei says forty-eight hours, but I'll bet Cassandra accelerates the plan the moment she senses a breach." I thought of Xavier upstairs, too weak to fight but too stubborn to stop resisting, and of Luna — torn between love and fear. Then Andre's wail echoed faintly through the mansion, carried down the halls like a haunting reminder. We weren't just fighting for technology or survival. We were fighting for family.
I straightened, determination burning through me. "Then we strike first."
Xavier's POV
The soft glow of the bedside lamp painted shadows across the room. My body still ached, but it wasn't the pain that kept me awake — it was the silence, the knowledge that Cassandra was moving while I lay here, chained by weakness.
The door opened gently. Luna slipped inside, carrying a blanket draped over her arm. She moved with quiet grace, but I could see the questions in her eyes — questions she had been carrying for far too long. "You're awake," she whispered, setting the blanket across my legs.
I nodded, my throat dry. "Too much to think about to sleep." She sat beside me, her hand brushing mine. "Then stop holding it in, Xavier. Tell me the truth — all of it. About NeuroRegen. About why Cassandra would risk everything for it."
I hesitated. For years, the story had been buried, a ghost of my past. But looking into Luna's eyes — steady, patient, unafraid — I knew it was time. "It didn't start with me," I began, my voice low. "It started with my father."
Her brows knit in surprise. "He was a genius, far ahead of his time. While other scientists dreamed of prolonging life, he dreamed of restoring it — repairing minds broken by trauma, curing diseases that stole memories and identities. NeuroRegen was his creation, a prototype designed to regenerate neural pathways. It could heal dementia, erase PTSD, even give paralyzed patients a chance to walk again." Luna's lips parted, awe flickering across her face. "That sounds… miraculous."
"It was," I said, bitterness creeping into my tone. "But miracles are fragile things Luna. My father trusted the wrong people. Cassandra's family was among the investors. When my father died, the project fell into my hands — and into Cassandra's obsession."
I gripped Luna's hand, my voice tightening. "Used correctly, NeuroRegen could save millions. But in the wrong hands… it doesn't just heal the brain. It can rewrite it. Erase memories. Implant new ones. Strip people of who they are and replace them with who Cassandra wants them to be."
Luna's eyes glistened with tears. "That's what she wants… an army of slaves." I nodded grimly. "Project Dominion. She sees NeuroRegen not as salvation, but as a weapon of control. If she succeeds, Luna, free will itself will die. Humanity won't survive it."
For a long moment, silence pressed between us, heavy with fear and truth. Then Luna squeezed my hand, her voice steady despite the worry in her eyes.
"Then we'll fight her together. Whatever it takes." And for the first time in years, the weight on my chest eased. I wasn't carrying this burden alone anymore.
A faint hum vibrated through the mansion walls. Luna frowned, rising to her feet. "Did you hear that?" I pushed myself up, my heart racing despite my frailty. For a moment, I thought Cassandra's forces had found us. But then the sound sharpened — the steady rhythm of boots, the synchronized thud of a formation.
The security alarms flickered, then disengaged. The mansion's automated defenses recognized a new clearance code.
Desmond burst into the room, his eyes wide with something I hadn't seen in days: relief. "Xavier… you're not going to believe this."
Before I could respond, the doors to the west hall swung open. A squad of black-clad soldiers marched in — precise, disciplined, each step echoing authority. Their armor bore no insignia, but their movements told me everything. These weren't mercenaries. These were elites. At their head strode a tall man with streaks of silver in his beard and a scar carved along his jaw. His presence filled the hall, commanding without words.
"Still lying in bed while the world burns, old friend?" His voice was gruff, threaded with dry humor.
My breath caught. "Adrian…"
The man smirked, snapping his fingers. The squad immediately broke formation, spreading through the mansion with seamless efficiency, securing every corridor. "You didn't think I'd let you fight Cassandra without me, did you? You saved my life once, Xavier. Now I'm here to return the favor."
Luna looked between us, startled but hopeful. Desmond exhaled a shaky laugh. "Well… looks like the cavalry just arrived." And for the first time in weeks, I allowed myself a rare smile. Maybe… just maybe… we had a fighting chance...