And all the while, my body was the sacred sanctuary carrying the sovereign security of the free world.
“And Arthur Caldwell?” I asked, my voice flat, cold, and steady as zero Kelvin.
“Your uncle Arthur Caldwell was Emilio’s military co-director on Project Chronos in 1996,” Marcus revealed. “When the Pentagon decided to classify the bio-cipher and cancel the commercial weaponization contracts, Caldwell attempted to steal the master laboratory servers. Emilio discovered the treason and reported Caldwell to the Joint Chiefs of Staff.”
“Caldwell staged his own death in a military helicopter crash in the Persian Gulf in October 1996, fled to Zurich under an assumed identity, and spent thirty years building Vanguard-Apex Logistics and Aegis-Apex Tactical—a global black-market syndicate dedicated to hunting down Emilio’s heirs.”
Marcus closed the folder with an echoing thud:
“Caldwell planted Diego Vance in your life eight years ago. Diego’s father, Arthur Vance, was Caldwell’s corporate cut-out in Miami. When you conceived in November, Caldwell knew that his thirty-year quest had reached its apex.”
