My Dad Is An SSS Lycan!

Chapter 7: Suspension Order.

The man who had just entered stopped a few steps from the table, his expression so calm that the tension filling the room seemed to have no effect on him at all. Marven looked the stranger over, one hand still holding the pen above the contract as he asked, “Who authorized you to come in here?”

The man took an identification card from his coat pocket and opened it just enough for those closest to see: “Lucas Haynes, Independent Oversight Bureau, Bioethics Compliance Division.”

Marven frowned: “Which division?”

Lucas put the card away and set the file tucked beneath his arm onto the table: “Regional Bureau of Biosafety Coordination and Control. I’m responsible for inspecting facilities flagged as high-risk in bloodline research activities. Alpha-G is on the review list.”

Diana folded her arms across her chest, her gaze full of suspicion: “Who sent you?”

Lucas took a red-sealed envelope from the file and placed it in front of Marven: “Inspection order, along with a temporary decision freezing all transfers of Alpha gene samples whose bloodline origin has not yet been verified.”

Reginald immediately frowned: “What kind of nonsense is this?”

“This is a preliminary investigative procedure.” Lucas kept his voice even, completely unaffected by the man’s attitude. “Three bloodline data extraction facilities have reported signs of uncontrolled mutation. The sample included in this review is Lyra Ashbourne.”

Diana looked at the envelope on the table and gave a faint laugh: “A regional inspector has the authority to walk into the middle of a contract worth hundreds of millions of dollars and tell everyone to stop?”

Lucas pulled the chair beside the table slightly aside to make room for more documents: “The suspension order took effect before I arrived here. I’m only here to notify the relevant parties and supervise its enforcement.”

Marven tightened his grip on the pen, his voice turning colder: “Alpha-G was approved by the Alpha Technical Council six months ago. A regional agency has no authority to interfere with high-level clinical research.”

Lucas pushed the envelope toward him: “Section 3.2 is very clear. When a research sample has an unidentified bloodline origin, especially if there are signs of gene leakage or abnormal mutation, all research and transfer rights must be temporarily suspended until verification is complete. Your previous permit does not exempt you from that clause.”

Diana tilted her head at him: “You talk like a judge.”

Lucas did not respond to the mockery. From the moment he entered the room, his gaze had only rested on whoever he needed to address at any given time, never once turning toward Zeyan beside Lyra’s bed. Zeyan likewise remained where he was, Lucas’s arrival provoking no unusual reaction from him whatsoever.

Elena looked back and forth between the two men. She had never met Lucas, much less understood why an oversight officer would appear at the exact moment the contract was about to be signed, but at the very least, the red envelope on the table had kept the pen in Marven’s hand from touching the paper.

Reginald was the first to laugh, his eyes full of contempt as he looked at the identification card Lucas had just put away: “A man no one has ever heard of walks in carrying a few pieces of paper from some agency we’ve never verified and expects to freeze an Alpha-level transaction worth hundreds of millions of dollars? Do you even know where you are?”

Marven opened the envelope, took out the documents, scanned the title and seals, then stopped at the line naming the subject: Lyra Ashbourne, hybrid genome sample of unverified origin. He read several more lines before looking up: “This is only a preliminary report. There’s no seizure order, no court ruling, and no law enforcement agency accompanying you.”

Lucas pointed to the marked section of the document: “This report is sufficient to suspend any handling of a sample classified as genetically anomalous in origin. While the order is in effect, transferring the sample, returning it to the laboratory, or continuing clinical research would all violate Article 17.4.”

Reginald waved a hand impatiently: “I don’t have time to listen to an administrative employee lecture me on the law.”

Diana stepped closer to Lucas, looking him up and down as though searching for something suspicious: “Give me the name of your direct superior, your office address, and the confirming signature of the authorized official. If you don’t even have those, this conversation ends here.”

Lucas opened the file, took out another certified copy bearing the full case number, verification code, and official seal, and placed it on the table: “Everything you need is here.”

Diana did not reach for it. She lightly tapped her fingernails against the tabletop, her gaze shifting from Lucas to Zeyan: “What I find most interesting is how perfectly timed your arrival is. A man announces he can spend three billion dollars, and a few minutes later an inspector immediately shows up to freeze the contract. That’s quite a coincidence.”

Zeyan remained seated beside Lyra, one hand resting on the edge of the bed, his gaze only occasionally checking the numbers on the monitor. Lucas did not look toward him either.

Reginald watched the scene and gave a cold laugh: “Maybe they already know each other.”

Hearing that, Diana seemed even more certain of her own suspicion: “That would explain it. No money, so you stage another little performance. Hire someone who looks respectable, give him some paperwork, have him recite a few difficult-to-verify regulations, then hope we get scared and cancel the contract ourselves.”

Lucas looked directly at her: “You can call the Coordination Bureau yourself and verify it.”

“That agency is famous for never answering calls and never replying to correspondence.” Diana laughed. “A clever way to stall.”

Marven examined the seal once more. A trace of caution briefly appeared in his eyes before he quickly concealed it: “The paperwork may be formally correct, but that doesn’t mean the authority is sufficient. The contract between Alpha-G and Ashbourne was signed under a separate procedure. If you want to suspend it, you’ll need more than one regional directive.”

Lucas placed a second verification document beside the envelope: “The interregional routing code and case number can both be checked in the internal system. Whether or not you choose to verify them right now does not change when the decision took effect.”

Diana curled her lips, the mockery on her face becoming even clearer: “If you really are from an oversight agency, then you should understand the consequences of interfering outside your jurisdiction. We can sue you for unlawful entry, obstruction of an international transaction, and demand a full investigation into your personal finances.”

Lucas closed the file: “You’re free to exercise whatever rights you believe you have. If this transaction continues while the sample is under suspension due to genetic abnormalities, any resulting legal consequences will be borne by those who sign their names to it.”

Reginald slammed a hand onto the table, his voice turning harsh: “Marven, sign it. Don’t let some employee who appeared out of nowhere ruin an agreement that’s already been settled.”

The pen in Marven’s hand still did not come down. He looked at Lucas for another moment, then his gaze unconsciously flicked toward Zeyan.

Diana immediately noticed the movement, her expression cooling slightly: “You’re not actually going to believe this story, are you?”

Marven did not answer her right away.

Lucas stood beside the table, his demeanor still composed: “I was assigned through the internal system this morning. I don’t know anyone in this room, nor do I have any reason to involve myself in your personal dispute. My only responsibility is to suspend the transaction involving Lyra Ashbourne until her gene origin is verified.”

Those words made Elena look toward Zeyan once again. What was happening had already gone far beyond what she understood of Ashbourne’s or Alpha-G’s power. A suspension order had appeared at exactly the right moment, while the man who had promised from the beginning that he would handle everything remained unnaturally calm.

Diana stared at Lucas for several seconds before stepping even closer: “If we abandoned a contract worth hundreds of millions just because some official suddenly appeared waving a few folders, wouldn’t that make us a joke?”

Lucas did not answer.

Marven folded the papers in his hand and set them down on the table: “I recognize only the ownership rights established in the contract between myself and Ashbourne. If you want to invalidate it, bring me a seizure order confirmed by agencies with sufficient authority. These documents aren’t enough.”

Lucas immediately pushed another verification form toward him, complete with the tracking code from the interregional management system: “You can check it now.”

Marven gave it only a glance before turning his face away: “I don’t verify records by sight.”

Reginald laughed and turned toward Diana: “All this effort just to put on a show and drag things out for a few more minutes. A Rogue is still a Rogue. He thinks finding someone who knows a few legal phrases will change anything.”

Diana smoothed a strand of hair at her temple, her expression regaining its earlier composure: “At least it’s entertaining. I’ll give them that—they put some effort into preparing it.”

Elena clutched the hem of her hospital gown tightly, her eyes fixed on the stack of documents spread across the table. She did not understand every clause Lucas had cited, but what disturbed her most was still the way Lyra continued to be described with words like gene sample, ownership rights, and research subject. Everyone arguing around her spoke of the little girl as though she were something that could simply be transferred from one person’s hands to another.

Marven picked up the pen again, looked at Diana, and gave a slight signal.

Diana immediately stepped forward. The contract had already been opened to the final page. It still clearly listed Lyra’s transfer value as three hundred million dollars, while Elena was listed below as an unpriced auxiliary subject. After the prolonged negotiation, Lyra’s price had remained unchanged, in exchange for the mother being included for free.

Diana took the pen, her gaze passing over Lucas before settling on Zeyan, the corner of her mouth curving in open mockery: “Next time you want to hire someone to put on an act, at least find a face people have heard of before. It’s hard to make anyone believe a nobody who crawled out of nowhere.”

The tip of the pen lowered toward the signature line, while Lucas remained standing motionless beside the table, his expression unchanged even as only a few centimeters remained between the signature and the contract.