Ourobors Key; 96 hours in the shadows

Episode 6

The darkness in the penthouse felt significantly heavier, colder, and utterly menacing now. The air was filtered and sterile, but the chaos—something brutal and organic—had already touched the marble walls, contaminating the artificial perfection. Following Jax’s last explosive command to override all financial considerations in favor of prioritizing Dahlia and Serena, the control room seemed to struggle to accommodate this singular priority. Dozens of autonomous systems were now running wild, contradicting ten years of stable Ouroboros financial instructions. Juri had initiated the launch. The global cyber network was being manipulated, pushed to super speed limits. A financial betrayal the architect had to commit to achieve what he loved most.

“Hold all Ouroboros global assets! Focus one hundred percent processing on Sanctuary Isles and everything associated with Bauhinia!” My roar echoed back, but the sound now resonated into a hollow space of disappointment. Why did I wait? Why did I trust the calm?

“The system has diverted one hundred percent of logistical focus to tracking Ms. Serena and Dahlia. There is a potential total liquidity loss of ten to fifteen trillion Ouroboros Dollars, due to the automatic hold on large-scale transactions. E-Prime console—destroyed. Consider it a total loss, Jax,” Juri’s voice remained informative, presenting the consequences of financial apocalypse as if discussing a bad weather forecast.

“Confirmed total loss. Let the loss grow, Juri. The last query from Titan City Surveillance activated,” I requested. My visual focus shifted from the Bauhinia Brooch—the symbol of emotional betrayal—to the walls, which now fragmented into a data mosaic, searching for remnants of Serena and Dahlia’s location before their signals disappeared completely.

In that mosaic of shattered glass, only one path remained active: secondary data Juri had tapped from a private taxi's hacked dash-cam. The image resolution was better than Cyrus Kael’s intentionally corrupted shots. This was brutal reality, without pixel filters to ease my conscience.

“Visualization appearing in two seconds,” Juri reported.

The static image before me turned into a short video. A pause at the beginning, around 03:00, Titan local time. A rusty chain-link fence, a dark parking lot, illuminated only by the yellowish Sodium gas light. Three crude silhouettes, dressed in black from head to toe, were seen waiting at the roadside.

Then, an unmarked black van stopped smoothly without significant engine noise. It moved with military accuracy and planning, not a small-time operation by amateur kidnappers.

“That’s Serena. Serena was dragged forcibly from behind, held tightly by her bicep,” I hissed, my eyes wide, trying to read Serena's stumbling movements, even though the recording was viewed from thirty feet away.

Serena did not fight back. Her body was slumped, her head drooping. That didn't reflect her true self. I remembered the quick self-defense training I gave her ten years ago. Serena always fought back, always argued! Unless...

“Minimal resistance. Not total compliance, but there was an attempt to minimize disruption, Jax,” Juri corrected my quick assessment.

Instantly, a second person was removed from the other side of the van: a tiny figure, only seen for a moment before being carried inside. Dahlia's face was visible in an extreme zoom-in generated by Juri’s image processing algorithm. Her eyes were closed. Her mouth was half-open, as if being forced to swallow something. She looked pale—listlessness due to her worsening congenital heart condition, or... sedation? Or both?

And once again, the Bauhinia Brooch reflected a small glint on the chain tightening around Dahlia's neck. This was not an accidental sight. This was a notification. Confirmation: We have taken your cargo.

The entire recording lasted eighteen seconds. A lightning-fast, efficient abduction completed in the shadows. Once the van left, the street fell silent again, leaving only silence and new lies around me.

I stared at the silence of the road wet with the remnants of the morning rain. My stomach churned, a combination of adrenaline and pure anger I couldn't handle with standard protocols.

“Serena didn't fight back. Why?” I asked, forcing Juri into a psychological dimension.

“My analysis of Serena's muscle movements, speed, and minimal physical trauma—she cognitively decided not to fight, Jax. She likely knew the threat was real, given the Aethelard genetic protocol information you provided ten years ago. Her strongest strength is Dahlia. Serena did not want to activate a defense reaction that could harm her adopted daughter,” Juri concluded emotionally without using emotional words. This defeat was based on love. The love I had made into a target.

My head bowed. Serena's weakness became her strength; my weakness became her greatest sacrifice. Guilt came as an acute coldness. This was the inevitable consequence of scientific abandonment in the past, an explosion whose consequences she had to bear without the help of the husband she left.

I paced back and forth in the penthouse. Four steps forward, cutting through the reflected shadows of Titan. Four steps back. The countdown. Jax's military rhythm returned.

“They took Dahlia. We have identified the logistical entity in Sanctuary Isles, through Protocol Cardioplegia V4.1. That's the most important thing. Why was Serena—that key to past genetics—included in the delivery target? Why risk taking a double target?” I asked, cutting to the core issue.

“This is a genetic question. Not a cargo transport issue, Jax. Cardioplegia V4.1. The system has deciphered fragments of information from the Titan Server. 'Cardioplegia'—the medical term for artificial heart stoppage. 'V4.1'—genetic verification four point one,” Juri said. Juri flashed a visualization: a double helix DNA molecular model that looked complex and messy.

“Genetics is Cypher's expertise, and Aethelard Protocol has an inherent flaw, which Cypher desperately wants to master. We found residual data: Project Aethelard focused on regenerative radiation absorption, aimed at providing protection against organ failure triggered by a global ecological disaster.”

“Pure science fiction,” I snapped.

“Not for the Lazarus Foundation. Serena's DNA sample is the perfect blueprint for the gene synthesis process Cypher calls 'Regenerative Genome Type Delta'. The genome does not produce instant immunity against Dahlia's genetic disease, but makes her genetics unique, untouched, and highly reactive to elite stem cell transfer,” Juri explained concisely.

I punched the wall next to me. The sound was muffled, but the pain was clear.

“So the abduction of Dahlia and Serena isn't for the liver organ itself, Juri. Dahlia's transplant is a medical mask, so no one suspects during a hidden organ transfer procedure. The actual target is to utilize the genetic recovery process for another organ donor, obtained by Cypher's client,” I concluded with a terrifying realization.

“Exactly, Jax. If Serena is the trait carrier, Dahlia is the younger product, not yet manipulated by the Titan environment, but naturally inheriting Aethelard genetic resonance—making her connective tissue cleanest and most effective as a reactor.”

The guilt surged again, now doubled and attacking from various angles. I didn't just poison her past. I created a future full of threats for our daughter.

I remembered my last conversation with Serena, years ago. On her back terrace, the same place Dahlia played hide and seek with her favorite dinosaur doll.