Chapter 15

"Mr. Ortiz, as long as the Alliance is willing to provide both funding and military support, I guarantee I can restore all of the Ford family's previous channels within three days."

"As for profits, I only want twenty percent. The rest goes to the Alliance."

Hayes couldn't contain his excitement. With the Ford family's main line wiped out, he never dreamed he'd get to take the position of family head.

Philip Ortiz was a senior envoy sent by the Alliance. Wrapped in his coat, he took a drag from his cigar and slowly blew out a smoke ring.

"Damien is a madman, but he won't live much longer. The Alliance's foundation isn't something a mere Shadow Sect can contend with."

"Since you have this awareness, the Council will naturally ensure you sit firmly in that position."

Hayes was overjoyed and bowed repeatedly, "Thank you for your support. I'll have someone bring the contract right away..."

A silenced gunshot rang out, and one of Hayes's personal bodyguards dropped to the ground.

Philip's expression darkened at once, and his hand holding the cigar jerked.

"Enemy attack! Protect the envoy!" The Alliance guards immediately drew their guns and surrounded Philip.

The roar of SUVs grew closer, then abruptly stopped. Ironclaw stepped out with his men.

Dark gun barrels instantly locked onto everyone in the center.

"Who says the Alliance can protect you?" Ironclaw's blade pointed straight at Hayes.

Hayes's legs went weak as he knelt in the puddles, "Don't kill me! I'm just a middleman. I'll give you all the money!"

Philip forced himself to stay calm, slowly adjusting his coat collar, "Shadow Sect people, do you understand the consequences of killing me?"

"I'm an envoy of the Supreme Council. Touch me, and you're declaring war on the entire Alliance."

"Lord said this North American territory is off-limits to you."

Ironclaw flicked his wrist, and the tactical knife traced a cold arc through the air.

Philip's head rolled into the puddle, his eyes still wide open.

Hayes was so scared he wet himself, a large stain spreading across his pants. He crawled toward the underside of a car.

Ironclaw stepped forward and stomped on Hayes's spine, breaking it.

The knife flashed again.

"Find two sealed wooden boxes and pack them up. Send them international express."

"Address them to the Alliance Supreme Council. Shipping fees—use Hayes's card."

Ironclaw shook the blood off his blade and sheathed it. Iron Bears members quickly moved in to clean up the scene.

The ship yard fell back into deathly silence, only the sea wind howling.

Four AM, Safe House Number One.

Damien took a twenty-minute hot shower in the basement bathroom, washing away the smell of blood.

He changed into clean casual clothes and walked upstairs with light steps.

He pushed open the master bedroom door.

Sophia wasn't asleep. She sat at the head of the bed, watching Faye sleep, clutching the empty wooden box tightly in her hands.

At the sound of the door opening, Sophia's head snapped up.

Seeing Damien standing unharmed in the doorway, her tense shoulders instantly relaxed, and her eyes reddened.

"You're back," Sophia's voice was hoarse.

Damien walked over and sat on the edge of the bed, pulling her into his arms.

"I'm back. Everything's fine now."

Sophia leaned against Damien's solid chest, listening to his steady heartbeat. The anxiety she'd carried for days finally lifted.

"What about Chinatown? How did it go?" Sophia asked softly.

She knew what Damien had done tonight. She was more concerned about the restaurant owner who had taken her in when she was down and out.

Damien was silent for two seconds.

"She's dead," Damien said calmly, as if stating a fact.

Sophia's body stiffened. She jerked her head up from Damien's embrace.

"Dead? How? She was just an ordinary person running a restaurant. Why would they kill her?"

"She wasn't ordinary. There was a complete genetic lab hidden in her basement."

"She approached you and took you in. From the very beginning, it was all for Faye's blood."

Damien looked into Sophia's eyes.

Sophia shook her head repeatedly. "That's impossible. She was so good to me."

"When Faye was sick, she stayed up night after night taking care of her. How could she... ?"

Damien didn't hold anything back. "The data records from the scene show she'd been secretly drawing her own blood."

"Faking it as Faye's samples to report to her superiors. She used her own life to buy five years."

Sophia froze, tears streaming down her face.

She clamped a hand over her mouth to keep from crying out loud—afraid of waking Faye.

Damien reached out to wipe the tears from Sophia's face. "They took all the Rh-null blood bags from the lab."

"Sophia, I need to confirm something."

Sophia nodded, eyes red, "Go ahead."

"Faye has Rh-null blood. This blood type is hereditary. I'm type O... What about you?"

Damien held her gaze, waiting for her answer.

"I'm Rh-null as well," Sophia answered.

Damien's gaze sharpened.

"What blood types are Milo and Clio?" Damien pressed.

Sophia hesitated, searching her memory. "I'm not sure. The family never really let me see any of the medical records."

"But I know Milo is type A and Clio is type B."

Damien stood up and walked to the window, looking out at the night.

Basic medical knowledge; parents with type A and type B blood couldn't produce a child with Rh-null blood—at least not under normal circumstances.

Unless there was an extremely low-probability genetic mutation. But in the context of this targeted genetic experimentation, the mutation explanation seemed weak.

The Celestial Temple and the Assassin Alliance had gone to great lengths, targeting this special Rh-null blood antibody.

"Sophia, you might not be the Brown family's biological daughter," Damien turned around and reached this conclusion.

Sophia sat frozen on the bed, her mind blank.

It seemed like all the grievances she'd suffered suddenly made sense. Not their biological child, so she could always be used as a pawn—a disposable tool.

"I'll find out the truth," Damien said, walking back to the bed and gripping Sophia's shoulders.

"No matter who your biological parents are, no matter what forces are involved, as long as I'm here, no one can touch you or your daughter."

Sophia grabbed Damien's hand and nodded firmly.

Damien left the master bedroom and closed the door.

He pressed the communication button on his tactical watch. "Intelligence division, immediately pull Sophia's birth records from New York twenty-six years ago."

"Check all of Clios' movements from that year. Trace the hospital and doctors involved in her delivery. I need to know who Sophia's real parents are."

"Yes, Lord!"

Mountain highway.

Ironclaw stood by the roadblock, his foot resting on a black waterproof bag. Blood was dripping from its bottom.

A heavily modified black SUV roared up the mountain road and came to a stop in front of him.

The window rolled down, revealing Ghosthand's scarred face. An unlit cigarette rested between his lips.

"Ironclaw, standing guard in the middle of the night?" Ghosthand said, removing the cigarette and glancing at the waterproof bag on the ground.

Ironclaw's face was expressionless as he kicked the bag at his feet.

"Third wave of scouts the Alliance sent. Pretty good at hiding, but he stepped on an infrared tripwire."

Ghosthand looked at the bag and let out a disdainful laugh.