Chapter 39 – Route to the Root

Paris – November 15, 1937 – 1:10 PM

The plan was made in silence.

No radio. No phone. Just paper, pen, and long stares.

Claire, Émile, Solène, and Lorelei all knew: crossing the border with Claire's name plastered across the newspapers was suicide. But not going… was accepting that LUX would survive.

— "We take the night train to Lyon," Émile said.

— "From there, we cut through abandoned rail lines. I've got a contact who can take us by truck to the border."

— "And after that?" Solène asked.

Lorelei answered:

— "Then we enter Geneva as international journalists. The League of Nations doesn't yet have an official warrant for Claire. But they will. Soon."

—

Somewhere in Zurich – 2:47 PM

A man turned the LUX dossier with gloved fingers. Tall, with an accent from nowhere and eyes the color of steel.

— "Vaillant is moving toward the Codex."

Another agent nodded.

— "Do we authorize lethal force?"

— "Not yet. She might still be silenced… gracefully. After that, it won't matter."

—

Train to Lyon – 8:19 PM

Claire watched the tracks under the moonlight.

— "Do you think truth wins, Lorelei?"

The woman hesitated. Then replied:

— "Truth doesn't win. But it survives. And sometimes, that's enough to bring down empires."

Claire nodded.

And in silence, she wrote something on a scrap of paper.

Then folded it and slipped it into her pocket, right next to the name LUX.

—

The hunt had begun.

But now… they knew how to hunt back.