CEO loves me with all his soul.-Chapter 130. A lingering Thought

The room was quiet, save for the soft hum of the hidden ventilation system and the occasional click of a pen or tap on a laptop. The long conference table at the center of the Genetics Emergency Operations Wing was covered with papers, monitors, and a holographic projector currently flickering with the 3D layout of the Apex Underground Labs.

Lucas sat rigidly in one of the steel chairs, his face pale under the dim lights. His golden eyes were sharp, but behind them was exhaustion. He had barely slept since returning from deep cover. The stitched wound on his arm throbbed beneath his rolled sleeve, but he didn’t flinch.

Across from him sat Chief Argo—no longer in his beggar disguise. In his black tactical gear, he looked every inch the calculating commander that he was. Beside him were three senior officers, intelligence leads, and a few trusted members of the task force. The air was heavy with urgency.

Lucas placed a small sealed folder onto the table.

"This," he said quietly, "is the full formula."

Argo leaned forward and slid the file toward himself with gloved fingers. "The genetic equation Doctor Naehr has been working on?"

"Yes," Lucas said. "It’s a modified sequence—extremely volatile. He intends to aerosolize it and release it globally within forty-eight hours."

A silence dropped over the room.

Argo opened the folder, scanning the neatly inked symbols and chemical structures. One of the science officers gasped. "This... this isn’t just genome correction. It rewrites expression rates in real-time. It could force mutation—at a cellular level."

Lucas nodded. "That’s the point. Naehr believes humanity should evolve beyond what he calls ’flawed natural selection.’ He sees this formula as purification. But it’s not safe. It’s unstable. I’ve seen it melt human brain tissue in five seconds flat."

"Then why the hell did you steal it?" someone asked.

Lucas’s golden eyes hardened. "Because now we can stop him."

A figure stepped forward from the shadows. Long dark robes, silver rings, and an air of mystery that unsettled even the most experienced operatives.

Doctor Zara.

Isaac and Adrian’s elusive aunt. Not part of the police force officially, yet trusted by Argo. Her knowledge in genetics and biotech made her a quiet legend in underground circles. Her motivations were often unclear—especially since her father was murdered by the same secretive powers Ethan’s circle had long fought.

She tilted her head, examining the formula. "He’s planning the release at Central Point," she said without looking up. "It has the atmospheric conditions necessary for aerosol bloom."

Argo’s brow furrowed. "And the distribution system?"

Lucas opened his backpack and slid out a flash drive. "Blueprints. Air duct integration. Nano release nodes. He has technicians finalizing the units now."

Doctor Zara turned to Argo, her voice low. "We don’t have the manpower to shut down every injector. But we can do something else."

"What do you suggest?" Argo asked.

Zara’s eyes gleamed. "We switch the serum. Give him what he wants—just... not quite."

Lucas stared. "You mean—replace his genome solution with something inert?"

"No," she said. "We give him something worse. Something that stops the gene expression mid-way. Traps it. Forces complete cellular shutdown if used in high enough concentration."

There was a pause. Argo frowned. "That could kill people too."

"But only those who try to use it on a mass scale," Zara replied calmly. "We’d be sabotaging the weapon at the molecular level. And we make sure only the main injector is replaced. One source of failure. Enough to unravel the entire network once he triggers the chain."

A beat.

Argo looked at Lucas. "Can you get us back in?"

Lucas nodded. "I’ve got my clearance tags and I’m still in their system. But it has to be fast. I’ll need backup."

Doctor Zara stepped forward. "I’ll prepare the counter-serum. It’ll mimic the original—color, density, even base volatility."

Lucas’s eyes softened for the first time in hours. "Thank you."

But Zara wasn’t smiling. "Don’t thank me yet. You realize what this means?"

Everyone looked at her.

"We are declaring war on a man who believes himself to be the savior of the human race. He has no moral limits, no fear of death. You think you’ve seen madness?" Her voice dropped. "Doctor Naehr is what comes after morality dies."

There was a long pause.

Then Argo stood.

"Then we’ll kill what comes after."

As the group broke into sub-teams, the room burst into motion. Maps of Central Point and the Apex Lab were cast on the walls, schedules synchronized, and silent comms assigned.

Lucas worked with Zara, recalibrating vials of serum with hairline precision. He had no formal training as a chemist, but his memory for detail and experience under Naehr made him invaluable. Every bottle they tampered with was marked with a subtle symbol known only to the team.

Meanwhile, Argo assigned his best infiltrators—led by one of his lieutenants, Jena—to enter the distribution tunnels. Their mission: plant surveillance and set up an extraction path.

Zara approached Argo once more. "There’s a risk," she said. "If even one vial of the original serum goes through, it could cause irreversible chain mutation in anyone exposed."

Argo’s voice was hard. "Then we make sure none do."

Zara sighed, "It is not as easy as you say. I am once again warning you, there is high risk, tell all the related personal all over the world."

--

The room was quiet.

Moonlight bled through the curtains in pale ribbons, brushing over the wooden floor and the edge of the large bed. A gentle breeze stirred the open window, carrying with it the faintest scent of lavender from the garden outside the Levistis Manor. In the center of the bed lay Isaac, curled slightly on his side.

He had fallen asleep in exhaustion, wearing a black T-shirt and loose cotton pants, a single pillow cradling his head. His usually sharp face was softer in slumber, the fierce lines of grief and anger fading for a brief moment. His hand twitched once, curling against the sheets. Then again.

A whimper escaped his lips.

And in the dream, he was whole.

They were in the kitchen. Not any real kitchen—just some composite of memories. A warm glow filled the space. The walls were white, the counter was cluttered with two coffee mugs and a tray of chocolate cake. Lucas stood by the counter, slicing the cake with practiced hands, humming a tune that didn’t exist outside Isaac’s memory.

He looked exactly the same. Blond hair slightly messy, golden eyes glowing with kindness and a trace of mischief. He wore a white shirt with sleeves rolled up, and a pair of jeans Isaac remembered teasing him about once for being too tight.

Isaac stood there, breathless, unable to speak.

Lucas turned, holding out a plate with a slice of cake. "You didn’t eat anything all day again, did you?"

His voice was soft. Familiar. Gentle.

Isaac opened his mouth to respond, but no sound came out.

Lucas smiled. "You always get this look when I feed you. Like a puppy pretending he’s not starving."

He stepped forward and held the plate up, his other hand touching Isaac’s cheek.

Warm.

Alive.

Lucas’s fingers traced the side of Isaac’s face. "You never listened to me when I told you to rest. But you always listened when I asked you to stay."

Isaac swallowed. His hands trembled as he reached out, wanting to grab him, hold him, anchor him in place and never let him go. "Lucas..." he finally choked out.

Lucas leaned in and pressed a kiss to his cheek. "I’m proud of you. I always was. Even when you were a damn mess."

Isaac closed his eyes. "You’re not real..."

Lucas’s hand lingered on his shoulder. "No. I’m not. But I’m here, for now."

"I miss you," Isaac said, his voice breaking. "God, I miss you so much."

Lucas tilted his head, those golden eyes shining with warmth and something unspoken. "Then carry me with you. Not like a ghost. Like something soft in your chest. Like a heartbeat."

The dream shifted. The kitchen faded.

They were lying together now, on a patch of sun-warmed grass somewhere unknown. Lucas curled beside him, head resting on Isaac’s chest. The air smelled of summer. The world was quiet and still.

"I didn’t get to tell you everything," Isaac whispered, threading his fingers through Lucas’s hair.

Lucas chuckled against his shoulder. "You didn’t need to. I already knew."

"I would’ve married you," Isaac said. "Would’ve done it even if you asked me in the middle of a battlefield."

"I know," Lucas whispered.

"I would’ve given you everything."

Lucas looked up. "You did."

Then the breeze shifted, and the warmth began to fade. Lucas’s image blurred at the edges, like a photo melting in water.

Isaac grabbed his hand, desperate. "Don’t go!"

Lucas’s smile was full of sorrow. "It’s almost morning."

"No—wait—"

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