Chapter 3
774words
His five-thousand-dollar suit suddenly felt like burlap against his skin.
Elias stood at the window, his back turned, but his rage was so palpable it seemed to freeze the air solid.
"They refused," Julian's voice cracked. "Sanguine Solutions insists donor anonymity is their cornerstone. Breaching it would destroy their entire operation."
Elias turned slowly. He didn't raise his voice—his calm was far more terrifying than any outburst.
"Destroy?" he echoed softly, his golden eyes unnervingly still. "Then let them be destroyed."
He moved toward Julian with ghostlike silence. Stopping before his assistant, he reached up to straighten Julian's tie.
The gesture should have been familiar, yet it turned Julian to stone.
"Julian," Elias's voice barely reached a whisper, "you've served me for thirty years. Do you believe I'm 'asking' them?"
"No, Master. I'll immediately—"
"I presented them with options." Elias cut him off, his voice tinged with boredom. "They could 'cooperate' and enjoy my generous investment. Or they could 'refuse.'"
He released the tie and moved to his desk, picking up a tablet.
"Initiate 'Purification' protocol. I want Helio-Medicals—Sanguine's parent company in Zurich—under simultaneous investigation by tax authorities, health regulators, and the SEC within twenty minutes. Freeze every offshore account they have."
Julian's face drained of color. This wasn't an investigation—it was corporate execution.
"And," Elias added, "unleash our cyber team. Breach Sanguine's servers. I don't care about their encryption level. I want that name. Now."
"Yes, Master." Julian bowed and practically fled the room.
Elias returned to the window. The strange restlessness awakened by A-27's blood grew increasingly unmanageable. For the first time in six centuries, he felt… impatient.
He'd been craving something he hadn't known existed. Now he did.
…………
Across town, Emma sat in her studio apartment, staring at her banking app.
[$7,500.00]
What remained after paying the hospital bill. The sum bought her breathing room, but also branded her with its source.
She was too exhausted to even feel guilty.
She robotically opened her email to confirm with Leo's doctor that treatment would continue as scheduled.
Her phone rang. Liam.
Emma hesitated before answering.
"Emma? Babe?" Liam's voice dripped with remorse. "Listen, I'm sorry. I shouldn't have pushed you at the restaurant."
"It's fine, Liam. I—"
"No, it was my fault." He cut her off eagerly. "I just… got carried away. I only want to build us a perfect future. I know you're stressed, but we're in this together."
Emma closed her eyes. We're in this together. The words stung like needles.
His version of "together" involved savings accounts and interest rates. He couldn't comprehend her battlefield.
"Listen," Liam's voice brightened again, "there's an open house at Oak Creek this weekend. That cottage with the bay window I showed you. Let's check it out, yeah? Clear our heads a bit."
Emma's throat constricted.
A house. A dream beyond her reach. A lie she'd just purchased with her blood.
"…Sure." The word escaped before she could stop it. She needed this—needed to pretend everything was normal, even for a few hours. She needed to grasp at Liam's sunlit world before the shadows swallowed her completely.
"Great!" Liam's relief was audible. "I love you, Emma."
"…Love you too." She hung up and buried her face in her hands.
…………
Forty minutes later, Julian reentered the penthouse.
Without speaking, he approached and placed a military-grade encrypted tablet on Elias's desk.
Elias looked up.
"Their data vault proved more resilient than expected," Julian reported, barely containing his excitement, "but Helio-Medicals' board called an emergency meeting five minutes ago. They've agreed to 'cooperate indefinitely' in exchange for 'suspending' the investigation."
"Open it," Elias commanded.
Julian entered a complex code sequence. A file decrypted.
Donor Profile: A-27.
Elias scanned the data—blood type, rare markers, purity analysis—none of which interested him.
He scrolled down. And there it was.
A photograph.
The girl looked exhausted, dark circles shadowing her eyes, but a stubborn light burned within them. She faced the student ID camera with defiance—an unyielding curve to her lips.
Dark brown hair framed porcelain skin.
Name: Emma Vance
Age: 22
Address: 413 Bridgewater Street, Apartment 3B
Attending: City Art Institute
Elias's fingers traced her image on the screen with near-reverent hunger.
Emma.
The name rolled across his cold lips like a forgotten incantation.
"Master?" Julian ventured.
Elias didn't answer. He stared at the photograph, dark possessiveness coursing through him like the sweetest venom.
The hunt was over.
He grabbed his coat.
"Ready the car."
"Where to, Master?"
Elias smiled slightly—a smile that sent chills down Julian's spine.
"To meet my… donor."
