Nan Manor, Western CourtyardUnder the ancient wisteria tree, Lorraine Lancaster hung like a ghost from the moon gate, her sleeping robe soaked through with blood and dew. Crimson whip marks cut across her pale skin like calligraphy of cruelty.
Selena Lancaster circled her with a silver needle, the tip glistening with phosphorescent blue—the unmistakable glow of raw Veritas.
"Last chance," Selena purred, pressing the needle to Lorraine's throat."Where did your son hide the shares?"
Before Lorraine could respond, a shadow burst from the perimeter—Vivian Nan, wild-eyed and breathless, shoved Selena aside.
"We agreed! Only her face! No killing!"
Selena's smile was all venom. She backhanded Vivian so hard her head snapped sideways.
"Fool. You really thought the Dowager would let a counterfeit heir inherit?"
Lorraine's swollen eyes fluttered open. Blood bubbled at her lips.
"Sienna..." she rasped."Run."
The Abandoned ChurchRain streaked down stained-glass saints as Lin Zhao aimed a nano-scanner at the scarlet swirl on Sienna's cheek.
The scanner blinked. Then flickered to life—a glowing web of code and circuitry projected onto the walls.
"It's not a scar," Lin whispered."It's a biocircuit. A living regulator for Veritas toxicity."
Flashback:Six-year-old Sienna strapped to a gurney, screaming as Dowager Nan pressed a cauterizing device to her face. Lorraine watched from the shadows, holding a burning-fever Vivian.
"Spare the children," she had begged."I'll never speak of it again."
"The chip needs an activation key," Lin murmured, voice tight.
Silas, silent until now, spoke:
"The white roses.My mother cuts exactly twelve from the Lancaster garden every week."
Sienna's eyes widened. They all understood.
The activation code had been in front of them all along.
Nan Manor DungeonChains clinked as Vivian knelt beside her mother, trembling fingers fumbling at the cuffs.
"Why... why protect me," she choked, "when you knew I was just the maid's—"
Lorraine slumped forward, coughing blood—but seized her wrist with surprising strength. She pressed something into Vivian's palm.
A micro-injector.
"I chose you... because your mother..." Lorraine gasped,"was Veritas's first test subject."
Selena's triumphant sneer faltered. Her eyes snapped to the vial now glowing in Vivian's palm—bearing the Lancaster crest.
"Impossible! The old man burned all the evidence—"
"—You mean my grandfather?"A cold voice rang out from the darkness.
Silas Lancaster stepped into view, blood dripping from his coat. Behind him, Sienna emerged, a bloodied silver hairpin pressed to the temple of the butler.
"Your staff talks when properly motivated."
Above them, the courtyard exploded.
Flames roared skyward, engulfing the moon gate and turning night into war.
At the center stood Dowager Nan, untouched by fire. The blaze shimmered around her like a halo. In her hand: a glowing detonator.
"My masterpiece," she said, voice trembling with ecstasy."One drop of her blood will awaken every dormant Veritas strain in the city."
Sienna's birthmark pulsed, searing hot. Her legs gave way.
Then—Vivian screamed.
She sprinted through the fire, dagger in hand, aimed at the Dowager's heart—
—only to veer at the last moment.
She slashed the detonator's wires clean through.
"For my mother," she snarled—just before the Dowager's own hairpin sank into her chest.
Silas tackled Sienna as the device discharged sparks. They hit the ground hard. Above them, white-hot light burst like a dying star.
Sienna blinked, choking on smoke—
And saw Lin Zhao standing above the Dowager, a gun pressed to her skull.