The war room buzzed faintly, like the heartbeat of something buried but not dead. Billy stood frozen, staring at the grainy drone photo—his brother Ron shaking hands with William Smith, the family's oldest rival.
"No press. No records.""But we intercepted the drone feed."
Seraphine's words repeated in his mind like a pulse.
Billy turned toward her. "If this is real… then Ron sold out our company. Our father's legacy."
Seraphine didn't blink. "He sold out more than that."
She stepped over to a sealed cabinet. With a flick of her wrist, a biometric lock opened. Inside was a slim, carbon-black case. She opened it and slid over a tablet displaying another set of files—these weren't photos.
They were personnel schematics. Internal scans. Organ readings.
"Project ECHO_RISE // Variant 04: B. Roy // Neural Override Potential: 87%""Subject pre-qualified for Anchor Seed implantation."
Billy's chest tightened. "What is this?"
Seraphine locked eyes with him. "You weren't just a target, Billy. You were a candidate."
"Candidate for what?" he asked, heart pounding.
The Hidden Plot: Anchor Seeds & Identity Hijacking
Seraphine explained: years ago, the Obsidian Coil uncovered a blacklisted Roy-Smith collaboration—Project ECHO_RISE—an experimental initiative to create artificially-enhanced hosts with transferable identities, optimized for corporate warfare.
It involved Anchor Seeds—synthetic neural cores capable of carrying not just consciousness backups, but strategic memories, reflexes, and influence routines.
"They weren't just building tech," Seraphine said. "They were building… replacements."
Billy's voice was barely audible. "Replacements?"
"Imagine your brother dying in a boardroom 'accident.'But the next day, he's back. Same face. Same voice.Different master."
She pointed to a smaller figure in the schematic.
"Subject 07: Rin."
Twist: Rin's Identity May Be Compromised
Billy staggered back.
"They seeded her?"
Seraphine nodded grimly. "Or they tried. Maybe it failed. Maybe she fought it. Or maybe… the Rin you knew is already gone."
The silence between them thickened.
The Vault Within the Vault
Suddenly, an alarm flashed on the screen.
"Unauthorized Access – Vault Sigma Prime"
Seraphine cursed. "They found us."
Billy turned. "Can we run?"
She was already pulling two sidearms from the case. "No time. We dig deeper."
She pressed her hand against a concrete panel near the server stack. A second, hidden staircase hissed open.
Billy followed her down into the sublevel—colder, older. Unlike the tech above, this vault was filled with dusty reels, locked drawers, and analog files. A backup archive—unhackable.
At the far end was a rusted chamber door sealed with four different insignias: the Roy family crest, the Smith sigil, and two he didn't recognize.