CHAPTER ONE HUNDRED TWENTY ONE - A Peaceful Dawn After War

The implications hung heavy in the air. Lucas shook his head, struggling to process this new information. "But even if she somehow survived... why would Emily do this? We parted on good terms." Jack shrugged. "That's what we need to find out. If she is behind this, she's had years to plan, to nurture whatever grudge she's holding. And she'd have the technical skills to pull it off." Ella's mind was whirling with possibilities. "So what's our next move?" "We need to track down anyone who knew Emily back then," Jack said. "Family, friends, colleagues. Someone must know something about what really happened in that lab." As they left Jack's office, armed with a list of potential leads to follow up on, Ella couldn't shake a growing sense of unease. They were getting closer to the truth, but at what cost? And what would they do if they discovered that the person behind all this was someone Lucas once cared for deeply? The answers, she feared, might be more painful than the questions. E