Chapter 76 Board’s Gambit
CHAPTER SEVENTY SIX
Valenticias POV~
“Clara Vane, tech support,” I said, forcing calm into my voice despite the tremor pounding in my chest, and thrusting a fake badge at the security desk of Seryne’s glassy high-rise. The guard, his eyes glacial beneath the lobby’s chandeliers of crystal, nodded, beckoning for me to pass forward. My heart was thumping, my tech assistant disguise — a black blazer, fake glasses, brunette wig — felt like a construction-paper shield against Galden’s empire. The elevator buzzed upward, delivering me to the 40th floor where Gregor’s board gathered in their Lazareth serum ties, the secret I would reveal. Rosanna’s file, nestled in the bottom of my satchel, seared my side, claiming that Dr. Patel’s brother, Ravi, a spy who supplied Gregor with information—is Patel compromised? A grim spike of fear went through me, like a cold blade, shattering trust that I had only recently rebuilt. My fingers found the locket Eleanor gave me, the silver rose a link to my mother’s struggle; even though she was gone her voice still echoed in my mind—Hush, my star, hush—tugged me closer. The elevator dinged open and the doors swooshed aside and I stepped out onto a polished marble hallway, heart pounding—one mistake and I’m on my arse.
The boardroom was ahead, Galden’s coat of arms engraved on the glass doors, voices murmuring behind them. I had ducked into a tech booth high above the room, my laptop buzzing, a black-market device willing to leak their secrets to a world media that up to that day had enabled them. Nervousness scratched as I logged in to their network, my wig shifting out of position due to my shivering, fingers shaking on the keyboard. Out front, men from the commercial unit dressed in tailored suits sipped coffee, their talk was cool: “Serum warheads standing by—Gregor’s orders, summit or worldwide control. I swallowed in a rush of air, terror rushing—warheads? Is he weaponizing it further? The memory chip’s horrors — Gregor’s Wipe her, and my wiped childhood — flooded back, resolve burning hot. I posted the leak, files that revealed Lazareth’s serum deals, and chest throbbing— this is for you, Mother.
Dirty staleness filled Rosanna’s file, its pages folded and creased, naming Ravi Patel as Gregor’s mole, his betrayal a blade in my gut. Patel recommended me, that I knew, doubt biting—is he double-crossing? I glanced around the boardroom and saw a man who resembled Ravi’s photo, a sharp smile as he pressed the screen of a tablet. A shock wave of fear went through me—is he signaling to Gregor now? My phone buzzed; it was a cryptic text from Stefan: “I’m sorry, I never meant this”. My heart was pierced with pain, his cafe date with Natasha, his lies -I was trailing her- a wound in my confidence. Not now, I thought, fending it off, determination a blaze. I typed away faster, the progress bar’s leak creeping, and fear whispering—what if they catch me?
The screens in the boardroom flickered, and my leak went live: Galden Exposed—Lazareth Serum Ties. There was an uproar, suits running around, tablets lighting up with my transmission — buyer lists, warhead plans, Ravi’s name. “Find the source!” a board member barked, and I was frozen, terror spiking as two pairs of eyes darted toward our booth. Heart pounding — I shut my laptop and slid toward the service stairs, reaching the floor without making a sound in my heels. She roared to a board member, “She is here—Clawford!”. My blood became chill, fear a tide—they know it’s me? I grasped the satchel, Rosanna’s file a battle weapon, Eleanor’s locket for the shield, and barreled through the stairwell door, determination flaming warmer and hotter—I won’t.
Spiraling down the stairwell, my breath fogged and the Seryne skyline just beyond narrow windows. My fear throbbed with me as I descended, its carnage a cacophony overhead. They are coming, I thought, as my wig shifted, my glasses steamed up with sweat. Rosanna’s words rang through my head — You’re her legacy — spurring me on. I was on the ground floor now, a face in the crowd that was the lobby, fear sharp as an unfriendly guard’s eye lingered overlong, suspicion gleaming in his eyes— Do they see me? I stepped out into the night's sea breeze and ducked into an alley, heart beating. My burner phone vibrated, and an encrypted email from R: Ravis not the only traitor. Fear rose, and a fresh fight began— who’s R, and who else is betraying me? My fingers tightened around the locket, determination a flame, the traitor was a serious mystery that I would do anything to uncover.