Kabanata 10: Chapter 10 – Hunt for the Missing Child

The dawn chill bit at Lucien’s cheeks as he stepped off the train at Lake Geneva station. His suitcase trailed behind him—packed with passports, forged documents, and a single photo of his daughter, Mira, taped to the inside lid. His jaw was set, eyes unreadable.

Eve Larkin—Evelyn—had agreed to talk, but the summit meeting had stalled as her research schedule accelerated. Now, months later, she was unreachable through Horizon Labs. No calls answered, no emails returned. Only one thread remained: Mira’s birth certificate and medical records, falsified under Shen Medical’s gold‑crest seal, still pointed to a remote island clinic owned by Lucien’s estranged mother, Helena Shen.

Lucien hailed a taxi and spoke the island’s name in French, his voice clipped. “La Clinique Noire.” He handed over a burner phone. “Call me if anything changes.”