Silence.
Nobody moved.
Nobody spoke.
The words seemed impossible.
The last descendant of the First Family.
Artyom stared at Lucien.
"What are you talking about?"
Lucien's expression remained calm.
"Exactly what I said."
Viktor stepped closer to Artyom.
Protective.
Possessive.
"Explain. Now."
Lucien looked at him.
Interesting.
That was the word in his eyes.
"The First Family existed long before your empires."
He looked around the room.
"Before the Volkovs built industries. Before the Sokolovs built political networks. Before the Morozovs built their underground empire."
A pause.
"We ruled everything."
Roman's voice was cold.
"And then you disappeared."
Lucien looked at him.
"No."
A small smile appeared.
"We were erased."
The room went still.
Dmitri quickly searched every database.
Nothing.
No records.
No photos.
No names.
As if the family had never existed.
"Someone deleted everything," he said quietly.
Lucien nodded.
"Because people fear what they cannot control."
His gaze moved back to Artyom.
"They feared your bloodline most of all."
Artyom frowned.
"My bloodline?"
Lucien stepped closer.
"Your family possessed one gift."
A pause.
"They could unite people who should have been enemies."
Silence.
Mikhail frowned.
"That doesn't sound dangerous."
Lucien looked at him.
"It destroyed empires."
Nobody understood.
Except Valentin.
His expression slowly changed.
"Oh..."
Roman looked at him.
"You know."
Valentin nodded once.
"The First Family didn't conquer."
A pause.
"They connected."
He looked at Artyom.
"People followed them willingly."
The room became quiet again.
Suddenly—
Everything made sense.
Why Artyom affected people differently.
Why the project chose him.
Why enemies protected him.
Why people kept changing around him.
Not because of power.
Not because of dominance.
Because people trusted him.
Lucien smiled faintly.
"You understand now."
Artyom didn't answer.
Because he was remembering.
Viktor.
Who trusted him despite every reason not to.
Valentin.
Who protected him.
Nikola.
Who watched him carefully.
Subject Prime.
Who chose not to fight.
Even Sergei.
Who feared losing him.
Lucien's voice softened.
"That is your inheritance."
The facility lights flickered.
Then—
A new message appeared.
GENETIC MATCH CONFIRMED
FIRST FAMILY DESCENDANT IDENTIFIED
Dmitri looked at the screen.
Then froze.
"There are coordinates."
Everyone looked at him.
"Coordinates to what?"
Dmitri swallowed.
"A hidden location."
Lucien smiled.
"The Sanctuary."
Artyom looked at him.
"What is that?"
Lucien's eyes seemed almost nostalgic.
"The last place your family ever lived."
Silence.
"And what's there?"
Lucien answered quietly.
"The truth."
At that exact moment—
The entire facility trembled violently.
Harder than before.
Dmitri looked at the readings.
His face changed completely.
"No."
Nikola immediately asked,
"What happened?"
Dmitri slowly looked up.
"Someone just hacked every system."
A new message appeared.
UNAUTHORIZED ACCESS DETECTED
Then—
Another line.
TARGET IDENTIFIED: ARTYOM SOKOLOV
And finally—
ELIMINATION PROTOCOL INITIATED
The room went completely silent.
Lucien's calm expression vanished.
For the first time—
He looked alarmed.
Andrei's voice suddenly returned through the speakers.
Urgent.
Afraid.
"Artyom."
A pause.
"Run."