The Thorne Heiress Unveiling Shadow novel Chapter 104

Seraphina Volkov's polite, condescending refusal was a declaration. She wasn't just protecting a client's privacy; she was enjoying the opportunity to deny Kaelen Blackwood something he wanted. In the Thorne command center, the mood turned grim.

"So she's blocking us," Chase said, his voice tight with frustration. He started pacing behind the console. "What's our next move? Do we go the legal route? Get a court order? We can bury her in lawyers for the next decade."

Kaelen shook his head, his expression dark. "It wouldn't work. The Elysian Clinic is a fortress of Swiss law and offshore banking. Every client contract is ironclad. It would take years, and we would lose. Seraphina knows that. This is her way of telling us to stay out."

"So we send in a team," Chase shot back, his frustration boiling over. "A quiet one. Get the files and get out."

"Absolutely not," Arthur said, his voice a low command. "We are not the Syndicate. We don't operate like that. And a woman like Volkov would have security that could stop a small army. It's too risky."

They had hit a wall. A polite, smiling, and legally unbreakable wall named Dr. Volkov. Forcing their way in was impossible.

But Evelyn wasn't thinking about forcing her way in. She was looking for an invitation.

She had been quietly working on a secondary screen, her fingers moving in a steady, silent rhythm. While the men in her life were discussing how to break down the door, she was looking for a window that was already open.

"She's hosting a summit," Evelyn announced, her voice cutting through the heavy silence. "Next month. The ‘Future of Humanity Summit.' It's a private event, held at the clinic itself. She invites the top minds in tech, genetics, and finance to discuss the future of human life."

An image of the summit's sleek, exclusive webpage appeared on the main screen. It was filled with pictures of past events, showing smiling billionaires and Nobel laureates sipping champagne against a backdrop of snow-capped mountains.

"This is our way in," Evelyn said. "The clinic will be filled with outsiders. Security will be focused on the guests. It's the perfect opportunity to access their internal systems."

Kaelen's expression was grim. "It's a good plan," he said. "But it's useless. Look at the speaker list. Look at the sponsors. Seraphina has built this event to be a gathering of her own allies. The Thorne name is not on that list. And after our call, the Blackwood name is probably at the top of her blacklist."

He was right. They were powerful, but in this specific, closed-off world, Seraphina was the one who decided who was allowed in.

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