Chapter 42: The Summit of Shadows

Nairobi, Kenya – Private Compound in Karen District

The air in Nairobi buzzed with tension—not from traffic or city sounds, but from what was about to take place deep within the private estate nestled in the green, heavily-guarded Karen district. The compound belonged to a close ally of Damien's father—a retired African intelligence general, Kwame Obote, whose loyalty to the D'Amicos had never wavered.

Damien stepped off the armored convoy first, flanked by Amara and Lysander. Nora emerged moments later, followed by her uncle Malik and Damien's trusted cousin from Johannesburg, Idris D'Amico—one of the most formidable cyber tacticians in the southern hemisphere.

Inside the mansion's war room, a digital table lit up as attendees joined in person and via secure holograms. Representing the legacy lines were Damien's father, Giancarlo D'Amico, patched in from the family estate in Sicily; Nora's mother Elara—conscious again but still frail—streamed in from her secure facility in Zurich; and Anton, Damien's elusive cousin, appeared from an encrypted node somewhere in Hong Kong.

"Welcome to the Circle," Giancarlo's deep voice began. "What we're dealing with isn't a war of bullets or currency anymore. This is genetic warfare. Our names, our bloodlines—they're the targets."

Lysander nodded. "Archer Grey is using synthetic bioware to recreate strategic family branches. He's got cryo-labs from Siberia to Peru. And if he finishes syncing the genomes... he can rewrite history."

Nora gestured to a rotating hologram. "We found evidence he's creating composite heirs—children of spliced bloodlines that would carry authority in both east and west. That means power in Tavara, recognition in Russia, legacy access in the UK, and proxy control in China and Africa."

Amara, bruised but fire-eyed, slammed a file down. "One of them was me. Or someone who looked exactly like me. They injected me with a retrovirus to try to imprint memories. I remembered things that never happened."

Giancarlo's eyes narrowed. "Then it's time we go on the offensive. Target the source labs, expose the clones, and reclaim control of the blood registry archives."

Kwame Obote stood, his military medals catching the light. "I've activated silent protocols across Nigeria, Egypt, Kenya, and Ghana. We'll block any data extraction on blood identities. We'll hold Africa."

Malik added, "The same is happening in Morocco and parts of Algeria. But we need more reach."

"I'll pull strings in Canada and Brazil," Anton offered. "Let's make it a global firewall."

Damien looked around. "And I'll lead the direct strike."

Nora turned to him. "Where?"

Damien's eyes gleamed with deadly clarity. "Antarctica. Archer's final lab is under the Weddell Sea. He thinks we won't come that far. He's wrong."

Just then, an alert pinged on the central screen.

BREACH DETECTED – ZÜRICH FACILITY – THREAT LEVEL: MAXIMUM

Elara's feed went black.

Nora screamed. "They found her!"

Damien turned instantly. "We move. Everyone deploy. This summit was just the beginning. Now we bring the war to their doorstep."

To be continued...