The morning after their intense night in the vault suite, the Thorne estate was a fortress operating at maximum efficiency. The Group Pampering circle—now fully aware of Anya's Qilin identity and the Lombardi threat—worked with synchronized purpose, all aimed at protecting their Xiao Bao.
Lucien had mapped out the escape route, a brilliant, high-risk deception designed to make the Lombardi Group think Anya was defecting or attempting to seek asylum. The plan required precise timing and a public display of vulnerability.
Anya, wearing the counter-signature emitter Dr. Zuo had provided, watched Jax, wearing a similar pendant, step into the vault suite.
"Ready to make a splash, little spirit?" Jax grinned, though his eyes were sharp with concern. He was the perfect person for the bait. His worldwide fame meant any action he took would be instantly broadcast, creating the exact chaotic distraction Lucien needed.
"I'm ready," Anya affirmed, adjusting the elegant, inconspicuous traveling coat Madam Thorne had provided. "But where exactly are we making our fake getaway?"
"Zurich," Jax replied, handing her a duplicate passport in a fake name. "A neutral country with strong banking laws. The Lombardi Group is already monitoring all Thorne private jets and known routes. We're using a high-speed submersible disguised as a cargo transport to cross the Atlantic, arriving at a private Thorne-owned dock in Lisbon. From there, we fly commercial to Zurich, creating maximum visibility and confusion."
Lucien approached Anya, his face unreadable. He looked exhausted, having been awake all night coordinating the global financial freeze on the Lombardi Group. He placed a small, simple silver ring on her finger.
"This ring is linked to my vital signs and yours," he explained in a low voice. "If your heart rate spikes or you move too far from Dr. Zuo's signal boundary, the signal will alert me. If I need to be there, I will be there."
This was yet another layer of Group Pampering—a technological tether that was both fiercely possessive and genuinely protective.
"Be careful, Lucien," Anya said, meeting his intense gaze. "The Lombardi Group is looking for you to make a mistake. Don't let your protectiveness blind you."
He nodded, a rare admission of weakness. "I won't. Go. And trust Jax. He's impulsive, but fiercely loyal."
As Anya and Jax prepared to leave, the Matriarch, Madam Thorne, entered the suite. She looked at Anya with profound seriousness.
"I have one last warning for you, Xiao Bao," the Matriarch said, her voice dropping to a conspiratorial whisper. "Lucien believes the Lombardi Group is just opportunistic. I believe they were tipped off by the person who poisoned the pine. That traitor is internal, still lurking within the Thorne organization, waiting for the Qilin to reveal herself."
Madam Thorne pressed a velvet-covered memory stick into Anya's palm. "This contains the complete, unedited internal security footage from the garden three days before your disappearance. Lucien refused to watch it—it's too painful for him. But you might recognize a shadow, a scent, a familiar face near the Dragon's Breath Pine. Watch this in Zurich, in secret. The truth about the traitor must come from your own memory."
This was the ultimate act of trust from the Matriarch—empowering Anya to find the truth herself, even if it meant defying Lucien's protective instincts.
Anya slipped the memory stick into the lining of her coat. Moments later, she and Jax were navigating the complex underground tunnels of the estate. The transfer to the submersible was a blur of armed security, hushed commands, and the smell of sea salt and diesel.
As the submersible descended beneath the waves, Jax activated a tracking beacon on the surface that was designed to mimic the energy signature of the Qilin emitter—a massive, dazzling false trail leading straight toward the Lombardi Group's known European strongholds.
Meanwhile, back at the estate, Lucien was executing the second half of the plan. He released a calculated, fake press statement:
Thorne Group Executive Announcement: Due to intense corporate espionage and threats to the Thorne family, CEO Lucien Thorne has gone into seclusion. He is offering an immediate, full transfer of the Qilin Guardian's data to anyone who can guarantee her safe, unconditional return.
The public statement was a blatant, arrogant lie designed to bait the Lombardi Group. Lucien was offering a reward for his own "missing pet," creating the perfect psychological trap: The Lombardi Group would believe that Lucien was crippled by grief and was offering a ransom for the Qilin. They would take the bait, thinking they could seize the Guardian and get the data later.
A day later, Anya and Jax were checked into a secure, unassuming hotel suite in Zurich. The fake flight had generated the intended noise, and the Group's intelligence confirmed that Lombardi agents were swarming the area, searching for the highly visible rock star and his "socialite escort."
Anya, finally alone, locked herself in the bathroom and inserted the Matriarch's memory stick into her tablet. Her heart hammered against the counter-signature emitter around her neck.
The footage was grainy, taken by a hidden security camera camouflaged in a birdhouse overlooking the Dragon's Breath Pine. The date stamp read three days before her death.
The video showed the garden at dusk. The magnificent Qilin, a hazy shadow of light and fur, was nestled beneath the massive pine, looking agitated.
Then, a figure entered the frame.
It was a man in a Thorne Group security uniform. His face was obscured by the low light and the shadow of his cap, but his gait was familiar. He was carrying a small, opaque syringe.
The figure approached the tree, injected the syringe into the base of the massive trunk, and quickly melted back into the shadows.
Anya leaned in closer, zooming in on the figure's face as he briefly turned his head toward the camera. His face was still dark, but she saw a flash of silver on his hand—a distinctive, unique signet ring worn only by certain high-level Thorne Internal Security personnel.
Then, a sudden, powerful spike of scent memory hit her. It wasn't the scent of jasmine, or snow, or earth. It was a cold, sharp, metallic scent—the smell of antiseptic and cheap cologne. It was the smell that had made her uneasy during her time in her previous life, a scent she had learned to avoid.
Anya closed her eyes, trying to force the memory open. Who smelled like cheap cologne and disinfectant?
The image flashed in her mind: Ms. Lin.
Ms. Lin, Lucien's prim, sharp-featured personal assistant. The woman who had been fired in Chapter 2 for allowing Anya into the penthouse.
But why? Ms. Lin was a low-level assistant, not high-level security.
Anya reviewed the video again, focusing on the ring. It was definitely a Thorne Security Chief's ring.
Anya suddenly sat upright. She remembered the interaction in Chapter 1:
"Leave the room, Ms. Lin. And secure the guards outside. Now."
Ms. Lin wasn't just an assistant. She had the authority to command the security detail. She was a plant.
Anya's terror turned to ice-cold clarity. Ms. Lin had been positioned right next to Lucien for years, privy to all his most private moves, including his grief over the Qilin. But Ms. Lin couldn't have killed the Qilin for a mere paycheck. She must be working for the true orchestrator, the one who paid for the Dragon's Breath Pine to be cut down—the internal traitor who now worked with the Lombardi Group.
Anya looked at the blurry face on the screen, then at the silver ring. She didn't know the face, but she knew the betrayal.
She reached for the secure communication device Lucien had given her. She had to tell him. But if Ms. Lin was the culprit, who else was compromised? Lucien's entire security team might be working for the traitor.
I have to go back. The Lombardi Group was coming for her, but the real enemy was inside the gates.