The mountain shook again—another distant rumble, closer this time. Aiden raced to the window and pulled the curtain aside just enough to peer out. A convoy of matte-black snowmobiles zigzagged up the mountainside, their engines lost in the storm's roar.
"They're coming," he muttered.
Maggy remained eerily calm, brushing snow from her coat. "We have twelve minutes, maybe less. Did you unlock the second layer of the USB?"
Aiden turned sharply. "There's a second layer?"
Maggy nodded. "You only triggered the bait. The chessboard—it's a test. Your father didn't trust anyone. Not even Sophie."
Sophie stepped forward, still pale. "Why would he do that? Why would he hide everything from me?"
Maggy met her eyes. "Because you're the Queen's daughter. And if she ever found out you were alive, she'd use you as leverage. Or worse."
The words hung heavy in the room, and for the first time, Sophie didn't argue.
"Then show me," Aiden said. "How do we access the real contents?"
Maggy reached into her coat and retrieved a small chess piece—the missing white queen. But it wasn't just a piece. Aiden recognized it instantly.
"A biometric key."
She nodded. "Yours and hers."
Aiden and Sophie exchanged a glance. "Both of us?" Sophie asked.
Maggy inserted the queen into the USB port. "Dual lineage," she explained. "You're the daughter of the Queen. He—" she pointed to Aiden, "—is the son of her rival. This file wasn't meant for either of you to access alone. Only together."
The screen shifted.
The chessboard dissolved.
A new interface opened.
Black background. Red text.
OPERATION: FENRIR
Lines of classified files poured down.
Aiden read the summaries aloud. "Experimental neural weaponry… Memory manipulation… Geo-positioned drone systems… Human puppetry."
Then his voice caught.
"Project Gemini: Subject 004 – Sophie Laurent."
Sophie froze. "What?"
He clicked the file.
A video loaded.
A hospital room.
A younger version of Sophie—barely twelve—was strapped to a metal chair, her arms trembling, machines wired to her head. A voice in the background asked:
"Do you remember your name today, Subject 004?"
The girl hesitated.
Then: "My name is Sophie."
The screen blinked out.
Sophie stepped back, her world crumbling.
"No. That's not me. That—"
Maggy grabbed her arm. "They experimented on you, Sophie. That's why your memories of your mother are vague. They erased them."
Aiden stared at the drive, then back at her. "And you never remembered?"
"I only remembered what they wanted me to," Sophie whispered.
A noise cracked outside. The cabin shook.
"EMP," Aiden said. "They've cut our power."
Lights died.
The laptop blinked out.
Maggy pulled a flashlight from her coat and turned to Sophie. "We don't have time for shock. You've been part of this longer than you know. Your mother built a machine to rewrite humanity's memory. And your DNA is the final key."
"Why me?"
"Because you're not just her daughter," Maggy said. "You're her successor. But your father tried to overwrite that… with love."
Tears spilled down Sophie's face.
Gunfire sparked outside.
Aiden loaded his weapon. "How many?"
Maggy took out two pistols and a blade. "Ten minimum. Elite team. Masked."
The storm roared louder, almost screaming.
Maggy turned to Sophie, her tone softer. "When we get out of here… we go to Mount Pilatus. Your real past is buried there."
Aiden stepped between them as a grenade clinked against the outside wall.
"We're not dying in this cabin."
Maggy smirked. "I like the sound of that."
Then the wall exploded inward.
Three masked figures burst through, guns raised.
But Aiden, Sophie, and Maggy were already moving.
The cabin became a war zone.
Glass shattered. Snow filled the air like ash.
And behind the chaos, on a nearby cliff, a lone woman stood under an umbrella.
Her face was hidden beneath a silver veil.
She watched as the cabin burned.
Then turned and whispered into her communicator:
"The Knight and the Queen have united. Begin Phase Two."
---