Beneath the Billionaire Mask - Chapter 75: Chapter 75
You are reading Beneath the Billionaire Mask, Chapter 75: Chapter 75. Read more chapters of Beneath the Billionaire Mask.
Somewhere in Northern Iceland – 3:17 AM
Wind howled like a wounded beast across the frozen expanse. The sky was pitch black, save for the ripples of green aurora whispering across the horizon.
Elena tightened her grip on the snowmobile handles, her fingers numb beneath insulated gloves. Behind her, Liana held the navigation tablet steady as they approached the perimeter coordinates of Node Zero—the ghost site erased from every database, protected by something more ancient than firewalls: myth.
“Coordinates match the anomaly Julia found,” Liana said over the headset. “Thermal’s reading a structure beneath the ice. A power signature too clean to be natural.”
Elena’s breath fogged her visor. “Then we’re in the right place.”
They crested the final ridge—and saw it.
A circular chasm in the ice, unnaturally smooth. Etched along its edge were ancient Norse runes… and a modern sigil scorched into steel:
A serpent devouring its own tail.
Project: Ouroboros.
Liana exhaled. “This wasn’t just the beginning. This was the blueprint.”
Underground – Node Zero Control Nexus
The entrance was biometric. The system didn’t recognize Elena.
But it did recognize the clone.
“Welcome, CR-01.”
The steel doors hissed open.
Cold light spilled into a hallway lined with mirrors—real ones, cracked and aged, not digital illusions. Each one distorted her reflection. One showed her younger. Another—older. One fractured her entirely.
They walked in silence.
Down the corridor, a single chair waited.
Empty.
Elena paused. “Where is everyone?”
“No one’s been here in years,” the clone said. “Not physically.”
She stepped toward the chair—and the room reacted. Panels slid open. Screens flickered to life.
And in the center: a projection of Adrian’s father.
Guillermo Cruz.
A pre-recorded message began to play.
“If you’re seeing this, it means the Project failed. Not because of science… but because of humanity. We tried to engineer heroes. But instead… we fractured souls.”
Elena swallowed hard.
“Three subjects were designed to carry the ‘Prime Sequence’—the ability to resist manipulation. Only one proved immune to replication triggers.”
The screen zoomed in.
Elena.
Liana stepped closer. “You weren’t just part of it. You were the correction.”
But then… another screen blinked.
INTRUSION DETECTED
SLEEPWALKER PROTOCOL—OVERRIDE ACTIVE
CR-01 UNSTABLE
The clone stiffened.
“No,” she whispered. “Not now…”
She convulsed, hands shaking violently. Her eyes rolled white—then red irises flared like sensors rebooting.
“Elena—run—” she choked.
But it was too late.
The clone’s voice deepened, mechanical and cold.
“Asset compromised. Directive: eliminate deviation.”
A hidden panel slid open behind them.
Footsteps echoed—boots, synchronized.
Marcus’s elite retrieval team had arrived.
And Node Zero was no longer a secret.
Node Zero – Lower Level Security Corridor
3:41 AM
Liana yanked Elena back just as the clone—CR-01—lunged forward, her motions jagged like a puppet being pulled by invisible strings. The air rippled with tension as alarm klaxons echoed through the corridor.
“She’s in full override!” Liana shouted. “We have to shut her down without killing her!”
“I’m open to suggestions!” Elena snapped, dodging another attack. The clone’s strength was unhinged, precise, and absolutely lethal. A sweep of her leg nearly cracked the reinforced floor panel.
Behind them, steel doors hissed open again. Three armed figures stepped through—masked, tactical-grade armor, weapons drawn. One of them raised a shock baton the size of a rifle.
“Target CR-01 acquired,” the lead agent announced. “Engaging termination sequence.”
“No!” Elena shouted. “She’s me—she’s not the enemy!”
“She’s unstable,” the agent barked back. “And you’re next if you don’t move.”
The clone’s head jerked toward the voice. Then, like a switch had flipped, she turned on the new arrivals. In a blur, she disarmed the first, shattered the second’s visor with a palm strike, and flipped the third over her shoulder like dead weight.
It wasn’t human.
It was programming. Perfection. Rage.
But in a brief flicker—Elena saw it. A glitch.
A pause.
“Elena, the terminal!” Liana yelled from the console. “There’s a failsafe keyed to your bio-signature. I think it can reboot her—override the override!”
“How long do I have?”
“Five seconds. Max.”
Elena dove.
She skidded beside the main console, slammed her palm against the biometric reader, and screamed—
“Override: Elena Cruz. Authorization code—Blackbird!”
A tone rang out.
The clone—mid-attack—froze mid-air. Her body locked, twitching. Her eyes flickered. A sob broke through her lips—then silence.
And she collapsed.
Right into Elena’s arms.
Node Zero – Medical Bay
4:23 AM
The clone lay unconscious, hooked up to IVs and a neural stabilizer. Her heartbeat had slowed, her breathing even. A flicker of humanity returned to her face—less a weapon now, more… a girl trying to remember who she was.
“She risked herself to save you,” Liana said quietly, arms crossed.
“She is me,” Elena replied, brushing hair from the clone’s brow. “Whatever they did to her… it didn’t erase that.”
From the hallway, Julia’s voice came through the comms. “You need to see this. Now.”
Command Core – Mainframe Level
4:29 AM
Screens lit the darkened room like ghostlight. Data streamed down in unreadable code until a single message blinked to life on the central display.
PROJECT NIGHTFALL: ACTIVE
T-72:00:00 UNTIL GLOBAL RELEASE
INITIATED BY: V. MARCUS
Liana’s heart dropped. “It’s not just about Elena anymore…”
“It never was,” Julia’s voice crackled.
Adrian’s voice finally joined the call.
“Then we stop it.”
Node Zero – Command Core Vault
4:34 AM
Adrian moved with purpose, his coat flaring behind him as he entered the core. Behind him, Liana and Elena followed, the latter still shaking off the adrenaline of what just happened with CR-01—her clone—now sedated in the medical wing.
Julia’s face was pale on the screen, shadows under her eyes, voice tight. “Marcus isn’t bluffing. NIGHTFALL isn’t just a release protocol—it’s a cascade.”
Adrian stopped. “A cascade of what?”
Julia tapped a few keys. Code scrolled faster.
“Of every AI-enhanced surveillance file, every illegal operation covered by Project VIREX, and every compromised leader tied to it. The data is real… and it’s loaded into satellites.”
Liana leaned forward. “It’s not a leak. It’s a weapon.”
Julia nodded. “Encrypted until the countdown hits zero. Once it does—no one is untouchable.”
Adrian’s jaw tightened. “Including the people trying to stop this.”
Elena’s voice was hoarse. “So what do we do? Where’s Marcus now?”
Julia’s fingers hesitated above her keyboard. “That’s the part that doesn’t make sense.”
“What do you mean?” Adrian asked.
“He’s not hiding,” Julia said. “He’s broadcasting.”
A holographic feed opened. Marcus stood in a black suit, in front of a green-tinted control array—face calm, eyes empty.
“Good morning, Adrian. If you’re seeing this… it means you’ve finally caught up. Or perhaps you’re still behind.
I told you I wouldn’t just burn the house down. I’d light the entire street.
NIGHTFALL isn’t about power.
It’s about truth.
And you… of all people… should know how dangerous that can be.”
He looked directly into the camera.
“You tried to protect Elena from the truth. But what happens when she becomes the key to it?”
The screen cut to static.
Adrian turned slowly toward Elena.
She stared at the monitor, expression unreadable.
“What does he mean?” she asked.
Liana’s breath caught. “Elena… I ran a trace after your override activated. The clone? CR-01? She was built from a base template… not of your father’s choosing.”
Adrian paled. “Then who?”
Julia’s voice dropped to a whisper.
“Marcus. He initiated her replication before you even met Elena.”
The room fell silent.
Elena stepped back, her voice nearly a whisper. “You’re saying he created a version of me… before I walked into Adrian’s life?”
“No,” Julia said. “I’m saying he might’ve created you. Or at least, knew of your existence long before you did.”
A chilling beat.
Then Liana added, “If that’s true—Elena, you might be more than a key to stopping this…”
Adrian finished for her.
“You might be the code that unlocks it.”
Node Zero – Underground Core Level
4:51 AM
The silence after Julia’s revelation was thunderous. Elena stood frozen, her thoughts a maelstrom of disbelief.
“I don’t understand,” she said at last. “You’re saying I was… engineered? Like her?”
“No,” Julia said softly. “Not exactly. You’re real, Elena. Born. But somewhere along the line, Marcus may have manipulated your life—planted people, created paths to lead you to Adrian. Maybe even let you think it was your choice.”
Liana added grimly, “Which means all of this—the investigation, the foundation, the fall—could’ve been part of Marcus’s design.”
Elena’s voice cracked. “Then what am I? Just a pawn?”
Adrian stepped forward. “No. You’re the one thing Marcus couldn’t control. You chose to stay. You chose me—even when you had every reason to run.”
“But if I’m the key to triggering NIGHTFALL,” she whispered, “what happens if Marcus finds me again?”
Julia’s screen flickered. “That’s what we’re trying to stop. But we’re running out of time.”
She brought up a glowing countdown:
NIGHTFALL RELEASE: 01:28:34
Elena stared at it. “Where is he?”
Julia hesitated. “That’s the other problem.”
She brought up a 3D satellite map—coordinates blinking in red.
“He’s not in any government base, not in a blacksite.”
Liana’s eyes narrowed. “Where then?”
Julia exhaled. “He’s broadcasting from the ruins of your father’s old compound—Piedra Ciega. The same place you nearly died.”
Adrian’s eyes darkened. “He’s trying to bring it full circle.”
“And he’s waiting for you,” Julia said, her gaze locking on Elena. “Not Adrian. Not me. You.”
Elena straightened, wiping her face. “Then I’ll go.”
Adrian stepped in front of her. “Absolutely not.”
“I’m the trigger,” she said firmly. “Then let me control what I ignite.”
“Marcus is counting on that.”
“Then let’s disappoint him.”
Adrian didn’t flinch. “We go together.”
Liana grabbed her gear. “Then we better move fast. If NIGHTFALL hits, every world government will see Blackwood’s sins… and Elena’s father’s legacy will take down more than just ghosts.”
Elena reached for the encrypted chip Julia had given her weeks ago. The one she never used.
She slid it into her pocket.
“Then let’s bury the past—for good this time.”
Wind howled like a wounded beast across the frozen expanse. The sky was pitch black, save for the ripples of green aurora whispering across the horizon.
Elena tightened her grip on the snowmobile handles, her fingers numb beneath insulated gloves. Behind her, Liana held the navigation tablet steady as they approached the perimeter coordinates of Node Zero—the ghost site erased from every database, protected by something more ancient than firewalls: myth.
“Coordinates match the anomaly Julia found,” Liana said over the headset. “Thermal’s reading a structure beneath the ice. A power signature too clean to be natural.”
Elena’s breath fogged her visor. “Then we’re in the right place.”
They crested the final ridge—and saw it.
A circular chasm in the ice, unnaturally smooth. Etched along its edge were ancient Norse runes… and a modern sigil scorched into steel:
A serpent devouring its own tail.
Project: Ouroboros.
Liana exhaled. “This wasn’t just the beginning. This was the blueprint.”
Underground – Node Zero Control Nexus
The entrance was biometric. The system didn’t recognize Elena.
But it did recognize the clone.
“Welcome, CR-01.”
The steel doors hissed open.
Cold light spilled into a hallway lined with mirrors—real ones, cracked and aged, not digital illusions. Each one distorted her reflection. One showed her younger. Another—older. One fractured her entirely.
They walked in silence.
Down the corridor, a single chair waited.
Empty.
Elena paused. “Where is everyone?”
“No one’s been here in years,” the clone said. “Not physically.”
She stepped toward the chair—and the room reacted. Panels slid open. Screens flickered to life.
And in the center: a projection of Adrian’s father.
Guillermo Cruz.
A pre-recorded message began to play.
“If you’re seeing this, it means the Project failed. Not because of science… but because of humanity. We tried to engineer heroes. But instead… we fractured souls.”
Elena swallowed hard.
“Three subjects were designed to carry the ‘Prime Sequence’—the ability to resist manipulation. Only one proved immune to replication triggers.”
The screen zoomed in.
Elena.
Liana stepped closer. “You weren’t just part of it. You were the correction.”
But then… another screen blinked.
INTRUSION DETECTED
SLEEPWALKER PROTOCOL—OVERRIDE ACTIVE
CR-01 UNSTABLE
The clone stiffened.
“No,” she whispered. “Not now…”
She convulsed, hands shaking violently. Her eyes rolled white—then red irises flared like sensors rebooting.
“Elena—run—” she choked.
But it was too late.
The clone’s voice deepened, mechanical and cold.
“Asset compromised. Directive: eliminate deviation.”
A hidden panel slid open behind them.
Footsteps echoed—boots, synchronized.
Marcus’s elite retrieval team had arrived.
And Node Zero was no longer a secret.
Node Zero – Lower Level Security Corridor
3:41 AM
Liana yanked Elena back just as the clone—CR-01—lunged forward, her motions jagged like a puppet being pulled by invisible strings. The air rippled with tension as alarm klaxons echoed through the corridor.
“She’s in full override!” Liana shouted. “We have to shut her down without killing her!”
“I’m open to suggestions!” Elena snapped, dodging another attack. The clone’s strength was unhinged, precise, and absolutely lethal. A sweep of her leg nearly cracked the reinforced floor panel.
Behind them, steel doors hissed open again. Three armed figures stepped through—masked, tactical-grade armor, weapons drawn. One of them raised a shock baton the size of a rifle.
“Target CR-01 acquired,” the lead agent announced. “Engaging termination sequence.”
“No!” Elena shouted. “She’s me—she’s not the enemy!”
“She’s unstable,” the agent barked back. “And you’re next if you don’t move.”
The clone’s head jerked toward the voice. Then, like a switch had flipped, she turned on the new arrivals. In a blur, she disarmed the first, shattered the second’s visor with a palm strike, and flipped the third over her shoulder like dead weight.
It wasn’t human.
It was programming. Perfection. Rage.
But in a brief flicker—Elena saw it. A glitch.
A pause.
“Elena, the terminal!” Liana yelled from the console. “There’s a failsafe keyed to your bio-signature. I think it can reboot her—override the override!”
“How long do I have?”
“Five seconds. Max.”
Elena dove.
She skidded beside the main console, slammed her palm against the biometric reader, and screamed—
“Override: Elena Cruz. Authorization code—Blackbird!”
A tone rang out.
The clone—mid-attack—froze mid-air. Her body locked, twitching. Her eyes flickered. A sob broke through her lips—then silence.
And she collapsed.
Right into Elena’s arms.
Node Zero – Medical Bay
4:23 AM
The clone lay unconscious, hooked up to IVs and a neural stabilizer. Her heartbeat had slowed, her breathing even. A flicker of humanity returned to her face—less a weapon now, more… a girl trying to remember who she was.
“She risked herself to save you,” Liana said quietly, arms crossed.
“She is me,” Elena replied, brushing hair from the clone’s brow. “Whatever they did to her… it didn’t erase that.”
From the hallway, Julia’s voice came through the comms. “You need to see this. Now.”
Command Core – Mainframe Level
4:29 AM
Screens lit the darkened room like ghostlight. Data streamed down in unreadable code until a single message blinked to life on the central display.
PROJECT NIGHTFALL: ACTIVE
T-72:00:00 UNTIL GLOBAL RELEASE
INITIATED BY: V. MARCUS
Liana’s heart dropped. “It’s not just about Elena anymore…”
“It never was,” Julia’s voice crackled.
Adrian’s voice finally joined the call.
“Then we stop it.”
Node Zero – Command Core Vault
4:34 AM
Adrian moved with purpose, his coat flaring behind him as he entered the core. Behind him, Liana and Elena followed, the latter still shaking off the adrenaline of what just happened with CR-01—her clone—now sedated in the medical wing.
Julia’s face was pale on the screen, shadows under her eyes, voice tight. “Marcus isn’t bluffing. NIGHTFALL isn’t just a release protocol—it’s a cascade.”
Adrian stopped. “A cascade of what?”
Julia tapped a few keys. Code scrolled faster.
“Of every AI-enhanced surveillance file, every illegal operation covered by Project VIREX, and every compromised leader tied to it. The data is real… and it’s loaded into satellites.”
Liana leaned forward. “It’s not a leak. It’s a weapon.”
Julia nodded. “Encrypted until the countdown hits zero. Once it does—no one is untouchable.”
Adrian’s jaw tightened. “Including the people trying to stop this.”
Elena’s voice was hoarse. “So what do we do? Where’s Marcus now?”
Julia’s fingers hesitated above her keyboard. “That’s the part that doesn’t make sense.”
“What do you mean?” Adrian asked.
“He’s not hiding,” Julia said. “He’s broadcasting.”
A holographic feed opened. Marcus stood in a black suit, in front of a green-tinted control array—face calm, eyes empty.
“Good morning, Adrian. If you’re seeing this… it means you’ve finally caught up. Or perhaps you’re still behind.
I told you I wouldn’t just burn the house down. I’d light the entire street.
NIGHTFALL isn’t about power.
It’s about truth.
And you… of all people… should know how dangerous that can be.”
He looked directly into the camera.
“You tried to protect Elena from the truth. But what happens when she becomes the key to it?”
The screen cut to static.
Adrian turned slowly toward Elena.
She stared at the monitor, expression unreadable.
“What does he mean?” she asked.
Liana’s breath caught. “Elena… I ran a trace after your override activated. The clone? CR-01? She was built from a base template… not of your father’s choosing.”
Adrian paled. “Then who?”
Julia’s voice dropped to a whisper.
“Marcus. He initiated her replication before you even met Elena.”
The room fell silent.
Elena stepped back, her voice nearly a whisper. “You’re saying he created a version of me… before I walked into Adrian’s life?”
“No,” Julia said. “I’m saying he might’ve created you. Or at least, knew of your existence long before you did.”
A chilling beat.
Then Liana added, “If that’s true—Elena, you might be more than a key to stopping this…”
Adrian finished for her.
“You might be the code that unlocks it.”
Node Zero – Underground Core Level
4:51 AM
The silence after Julia’s revelation was thunderous. Elena stood frozen, her thoughts a maelstrom of disbelief.
“I don’t understand,” she said at last. “You’re saying I was… engineered? Like her?”
“No,” Julia said softly. “Not exactly. You’re real, Elena. Born. But somewhere along the line, Marcus may have manipulated your life—planted people, created paths to lead you to Adrian. Maybe even let you think it was your choice.”
Liana added grimly, “Which means all of this—the investigation, the foundation, the fall—could’ve been part of Marcus’s design.”
Elena’s voice cracked. “Then what am I? Just a pawn?”
Adrian stepped forward. “No. You’re the one thing Marcus couldn’t control. You chose to stay. You chose me—even when you had every reason to run.”
“But if I’m the key to triggering NIGHTFALL,” she whispered, “what happens if Marcus finds me again?”
Julia’s screen flickered. “That’s what we’re trying to stop. But we’re running out of time.”
She brought up a glowing countdown:
NIGHTFALL RELEASE: 01:28:34
Elena stared at it. “Where is he?”
Julia hesitated. “That’s the other problem.”
She brought up a 3D satellite map—coordinates blinking in red.
“He’s not in any government base, not in a blacksite.”
Liana’s eyes narrowed. “Where then?”
Julia exhaled. “He’s broadcasting from the ruins of your father’s old compound—Piedra Ciega. The same place you nearly died.”
Adrian’s eyes darkened. “He’s trying to bring it full circle.”
“And he’s waiting for you,” Julia said, her gaze locking on Elena. “Not Adrian. Not me. You.”
Elena straightened, wiping her face. “Then I’ll go.”
Adrian stepped in front of her. “Absolutely not.”
“I’m the trigger,” she said firmly. “Then let me control what I ignite.”
“Marcus is counting on that.”
“Then let’s disappoint him.”
Adrian didn’t flinch. “We go together.”
Liana grabbed her gear. “Then we better move fast. If NIGHTFALL hits, every world government will see Blackwood’s sins… and Elena’s father’s legacy will take down more than just ghosts.”
Elena reached for the encrypted chip Julia had given her weeks ago. The one she never used.
She slid it into her pocket.
“Then let’s bury the past—for good this time.”
End of Beneath the Billionaire Mask Chapter 75. Continue reading Chapter 76 or return to Beneath the Billionaire Mask book page.