CEO loves me with all his soul.-Chapter 142. So much for survival.

The air in the Levistis Manor was unusually quiet.

Too quiet.

Adrian stood just outside the drawing room, a porcelain mug clutched between his fingers. He didn’t remember making the tea. It had long gone cold, forgotten in the storm of thoughts weighing him down.

Behind the tall carved doors, Jesper and Cain waited. His parents. His blood.

He had grown up with another name, under a different roof, in the cruel care of the Hudel family. But the truth — that he was Jesper’s son, the youngest child stolen before he could even speak — changed everything and nothing at once.

He took a breath.

Then entered the room.

Jesper turned first. Silver eyes, so like Adrian’s, filled with a sorrow older than time. His long blond hair was tied back loosely, age barely touching his features despite the decades gone.

Adrian’s throat closed up.

"Dad," he said softly.

Jesper inhaled sharply and took a step forward, then another — hesitant, as if afraid Adrian might disappear.

Adrian set the mug down on the side table. His arms didn’t lift. He wasn’t ready to be embraced, not yet.

But he didn’t flinch, either.

Jesper stopped in front of him. "I never thought I’d hear you say that."

"You are my father," Adrian said. "Even if we missed everything in between."

Jesper looked like he might cry, but Cain stepped forward beside him, dark-haired and grounded as ever.

Ethan slipped in silently behind Adrian, nodding respectfully. "Uncle Cain. Uncle Jesper."

Cain placed a hand on Jesper’s shoulder, steadying him. "We never stopped looking, Adrian."

Jesper added quickly, "Jael gave his life for you. He found the lab where I was being held. Got me out. But... he didn’t make it. If not for him..."

"I know," Adrian said quietly. "Uncle Jael was a good man."

Jesper finally looked him fully in the eyes. "They took you to study you. Because you were the second child born with fully awakened Atop markers. And they knew... they knew you might carry what they needed to perfect the genome manipulation project."

Cain sat down, pulling a thin folder from the nearby shelf. "We didn’t tell you before because the moment we retrieved the information... Doctor Naehr went underground."

Ethan leaned forward. "So that project from 30 years ago — Project Atop — was originally meant to replicate the abilities of your bloodline?"

Jesper nodded. "Not just replicate. They wanted to weaponize it."

Adrian’s jaw clenched. "So the children — like me — weren’t just miracles. We were lab specimens."

Jesper’s voice cracked. "I fought to protect all five of you. But the moment I gave birth to you, they came for me. I wasn’t strong enough then."

Cain added, "We’ve discovered that the project was backed by more than just rogue scientists. There are records tying a powerful syndicate to the lab — political, military, even pharmaceutical."

Adrian frowned. "And now Naehr wants to finish it by releasing a modified version of the genome in the rain..."

"Yes," Jesper said. "And if he succeeds, it won’t just cause mutations. It will force selective evolution — kill those who reject the strain, and enhance those who carry dormant Atop-like genes."

"That’s genocide," Ethan said flatly.

Jesper’s gaze turned grim. "To him, it’s balance."

Adrian turned to Cain. "So what now?"

Cain exhaled slowly. "There’s something else. We found another file. One we didn’t understand until now." He handed Adrian a coded photograph, timeworn and faded.

It was a young man with dark hair, standing in a room filled with beakers and surgical tools. Jesper was in the background, strapped to a table, unconscious.

"That man," Cain said. "He worked directly under Naehr. And he disappeared ten years ago."

Adrian narrowed his eyes. "I’ve seen him before. Wait—he was at the Hudel estate. My so-called father spoke to him once when I was young..."

Jesper’s entire expression froze. "Wuner Hudel knew this man?"

"Yes," Adrian said. "They whispered like conspirators. I thought it was business... but—"

Jesper reached forward and grabbed his arm. "That man’s name was Merik Sarn. He was the first to perform live gene suppression surgery on an Atop. He vanished after faking his death in the same fire that destroyed the original lab."

Cain added, "And here’s where it connects: we think Sarn continued the work underground. Not for Naehr — but against him."

Ethan stepped back. "So now we’re dealing with two factions?"

Adrian shook his head. "No. I think Sarn is trying to beat Naehr to the punch. To unleash his own version of ’controlled evolution.’ But using Atop children."

Jesper’s hand trembled.

Cain looked at Ethan. "And you think Wryn is involved?"

Ethan nodded. "He’s not the mastermind. He was a runner. Someone higher than him gave the order. And now I think it was Sarn."

Jesper turned pale. "That would explain... why I’ve been having visions."

Adrian stilled.

"You’ve had what?"

"Visions. Ever since you were born. It’s part of our Atop traits. A psychic memory tether, almost like precognition. For years I dreamed of a child with your face standing in a burning city, holding something bright — and broken."

Adrian’s chest tightened.

"You saw the ending," he said quietly. "Or the beginning."

Jesper reached into his coat and handed over a folded piece of parchment. "This is the last thing your uncle Jael gave me before he died. He said it was from the original file vault. I never opened it."

Adrian unfolded it.

A single word written in red ink:

"REVERSAL."

Underneath it, a formula scrawled in Jael’s handwriting.

It wasn’t complete. But it was a reversal key. A way to undo the mutation, perhaps.

"I can use this," Adrian whispered. "But I’ll need Lucas and Savas to help. This isn’t just biology — this is brain-coded mutation. We’ll need to counter it on every level."

Ethan grabbed his phone immediately. "I’ll call Savas. Lucas is already recovering."

Jesper finally smiled — barely. "You’re so much like Jael. And like me."

Adrian looked at him. "I don’t care about genetics. I care about the people who stayed."

Jesper’s eyes shone. "Then stay alive, Adrian."

Cain stepped outside to take a call, leaving Jesper and Adrian alone for a moment.

Jesper reached for Adrian’s hand, gently. "I don’t deserve your forgiveness. But I do want your future to be safe."

Adrian nodded once. "Help me get there."

Then the front door burst open.

Augustin came running in, his face flushed with panic.

"There’s been a breach!" he shouted. "The Vault! Where you kept the antidote samples—gone!"

Ethan rushed from the hallway. "What?! Who—?"

A trembling assistant stumbled in after Augustin.

"Sir... the traitor... it was someone inside..."

Behind him, a screen came to life — security footage.

And on it—

Mathew. Ethan’s long-trusted secretary.

Injecting something into the security console.

Adrian stepped back in disbelief. "No... no, that’s not—"

Ethan’s face went cold. "He’s been with me since I woke from the coma. He knew everything."

Jesper’s voice shook. "He knows your children’s DNA."

Ethan turned on his heel, heading for the weapons vault.

"No," Adrian whispered. "They’re after the twins." frёeweɓηovel_coɱ

And in the screen’s corner, a final message blinked to life.

Countdown: 16:42:18"EVOLUTION OR EXTINCTION."

—End of Chapter—

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