Kira's POV
The file opened with medical records dated three years ago.
Patient Name: Lin Chen Cause of Death: Heart failure (official) Actual Cause: Poisoning - Compound X-47 (Xylaran military-grade toxin)
My hands shook so hard I could barely read.
Investigation Status: Classified Ordered by: Integration Council Reason: Patient possessed Cipher Gene mutation. Refused to cooperate with genetic testing program. Elimination authorized to prevent resistance recruitment.
My mother had the Cipher Gene.
The same mutation I had.
She'd been murdered for it.
I scrolled frantically through the documents. Photos of my mother in Integration custody, looking terrified. Interrogation transcripts where she refused to give them information about other potential Cipher carriers in the human population.
Then the final report: "Subject terminated. Daughter (Kira Chen, age 21) shows no knowledge of family mutation. Recommend surveillance and eventual acquisition for breeding program."
They killed my mother.
Then they waited for me to grow up.
And when I was old enough, they arranged for my family to sell me.
The Cultural Offering program wasn't random. It was targeted recruitment. They'd been watching me for three years, waiting for the perfect moment to trap me.
My father knew. The documents proved it—he'd received payment long before he signed the offering contract. They'd been planning this since Mom died.
Aria knew too. She'd been working with the Integration Council since before she even joined our family.
Everything was a lie.
My entire life was a setup to capture another Cipher carrier.
I sat frozen in the empty room, my mind unable to process the enormity of it. The door suddenly burst open.
Lysa rushed in, out of breath. "Kira, we need to move. Now."
"You knew." My voice sounded dead even to my own ears. "You knew they killed my mother."
She stopped. "You found the file."
"Answer me! Did you know?"
"Not at first. I found out two years ago when I joined the resistance intelligence division." She moved closer carefully. "I wanted to tell you, but Dad said it was too dangerous. That you'd do something reckless—"
"Reckless? Like what? Demand justice for my murdered mother?" I stood, rage finally breaking through the numbness. "They killed her! Then they hunted me like an animal! And you knew and said nothing!"
"Because I was trying to keep you alive!" Lysa grabbed my shoulders. "Kira, listen to me. If you'd known the truth, you would have confronted your father. Confronted Aria. And they would have killed you too. I kept you in the dark to protect you."
"I didn't need protection. I needed the truth!"
"The truth would have gotten you killed!" She released me, frustrated. "And we don't have time for this argument. The facility's been compromised. Empire forces are ten minutes out. We need to evacuate."
"How did they find us?"
"We don't know. But they're coming in force—military units, techno-knights, everything." She pulled me toward the door. "Dad's ordering full evacuation. Anyone who can't fight leaves first. That includes you."
"No." I pulled free. "I'm not running anymore."
"You've had three hours of training! You can't—"
"I can't what? Die?" I laughed bitterly. "Lysa, I've been dying since the day they killed my mother. At least this time I'll die fighting back."
An explosion rocked the facility. Dust rained from the ceiling. Alarms blared.
"They're here already!" Lysa grabbed a weapon from the wall locker. "Kira, please. For me. Run."
"No."
Another explosion, closer. Screams echoed through the corridors.
"Fine!" Lysa shoved a plasma pistol into my hands. "You want to fight? Point and shoot. Don't hesitate. Anyone in empire armor is the enemy. Got it?"
I checked the weapon like Sarah had taught me that afternoon. "Got it."
We ran into chaos.
The main training floor was a war zone. Resistance fighters battling empire soldiers. Plasma fire everywhere. Bodies on the ground—both human and Xylaran.
"Stay with me!" Lysa shouted over the noise.
We moved through the battle, heading for the secondary exit. A soldier appeared from nowhere, weapon raised at Lysa's back.
I didn't think. Just raised my pistol and fired.
The bolt caught him in the chest. He dropped.
I'd just killed someone.
My hands shook, but there was no time to process it. More soldiers were coming.
"Good shot!" Lysa yelled. "Keep moving!"
We reached the corridor leading to the exit. Marcus Thorne was there, directing fighters, his face grim.
"Lysa! Get the non-combatants out!"
"On it! Dad, where's—"
An explosion cut her off. The ceiling collapsed between us and Marcus, separating us with tons of rubble.
"Dad!" Lysa screamed, trying to climb the debris.
"He's on his own!" I pulled her back as more ceiling sections cracked. "We need to go!"
She hesitated, then nodded. We ran.
The secondary exit led to underground tunnels—old subway lines converted to escape routes. Other resistance members fled ahead of us, some wounded, all terrified.
We'd made it maybe fifty yards when I heard it.
Mechanical footsteps. Heavy. Synchronized.
"Techno-knights," Lysa breathed. "Run!"
But it was too late.
Three figures emerged from the darkness ahead, blocking our escape. Seven feet tall, armored, glowing with circuitry.
Techno-knights. The empire's elite warriors.
The lead knight's helmet retracted, revealing a face I didn't recognize. Female. Beautiful. Deadly.
"Well, well," she said, her voice cold. "Kira Chen. You're even prettier than your file photo."
"Who are you?"
"Commander Sera Vex'lin. Zair Vex'thor's replacement." She smiled. "And I've been looking forward to meeting you. The girl who corrupted our greatest warrior. The Cipher carrier who thinks she can play soldier."
"We're not going with you," Lysa said, weapon raised.
"You're not." Sera gestured, and one of her knights fired.
The blast hit Lysa square in the chest.
She flew backward, slamming into the tunnel wall. Crumpled to the ground. Not moving.
"LYSA!" I dropped beside her, my hands coming away bloody. "No, no, no—"
"She's alive. Barely." Sera walked closer. "But she won't be if you resist. Come quietly, and I'll let my medic stabilize her. Fight, and I'll let her bleed out while you watch."
I looked at Lysa's pale face. At the blood. At my only real friend dying because of me.
"Fine." I stood, dropping my weapon. "I'll come. Just save her."
"Smart girl." Sera nodded to her medic knight, who moved to Lysa. "Restrain her."
The other knight grabbed my arms, locking them behind my back with restraints that burned cold against my skin.
"Where are you taking me?" I demanded.
"Where you've always been meant to go." Sera's smile was cruel. "To the Genetic Modification Facility. You're going to help us solve our little Cipher Gene problem. Whether you cooperate or not."
"Zair won't let you—"
"Zair Vex'thor is a traitor awaiting execution. He has no power here anymore." She tilted her head. "Did you really think his sacrifice would save you? How naive. It just delayed the inevitable."
The medic knight stood from Lysa. "She's stable. For now."
"Good. Bring the Chen girl. And someone notify the High Council—we've recovered the asset."
Asset. Just like Zair had called me property.
They dragged me away from Lysa's unconscious form, deeper into the tunnels, toward a waiting transport.
I was being taken to a genetic lab. To be experimented on. Used. Destroyed.
And this time, there was no one coming to save me.
But as they shoved me into the transport, my hand brushed against my pocket.
The data chip was still there.
File seventeen wasn't the only file on it. There were dozens more. Information about the empire. About the Cipher Gene. About their experiments.
And if I was going to be their prisoner, their "asset," maybe I could learn enough to destroy them from the inside.
Zair had given me the tools.
My mother had given me the strength.
Now I just needed to survive long enough to use both.
The transport doors closed, sealing me into darkness.
And somewhere in that darkness, I smiled.
They thought they'd captured me.
They had no idea they'd just let a weapon into their most secure facility.
A weapon who knew exactly how much she had to lose.
And how far she was willing to go to win.Whether for better or worse—that was up to me now.