Chapter 459

The office was heavy with silence as Harrison de Arma's knuckles turned white from clenching his fists.

"At that time, the Kents were still my allies." His voice was rough with suppressed rage. "They handed me a vial, claiming it contained an experimental serum that could immunize against the virus."

A bitter laugh escaped him. "I trusted them. I was desperate to protect my daughter. So I paid an exorbitant sum and injected her with it."

His jaw tightened. "But she still got infected. Now I understand why she suddenly left the de Arma estate a year later and fled to Morwich with Sebastian." His eyes burned with betrayal. "They used me. That vial wasn't a cure—it was the virus itself. My own daughter became their test subject."

Nathan Goldmann poured himself tea, the delicate clink of porcelain unnaturally loud in the tense room. "So the virus was always part of their experiments?"

Harrison's shoulders slumped. "Edmund Lincoln told me in Stoslo that infection was just the first phase."

The revelation had shattered him. For decades, he'd believed the Kents were searching for a cure. Instead, they'd been perfecting a weapon.

"My father withdrew our family from royal politics after the incident with the eldest princess," Harrison continued hoarsely. "Everyone thought it was because Philip Goldmann took me hostage. But that was only part of it."

He rubbed his missing leg absently. "I lost more than a limb that day. When I learned Philip was involved in my father's death, hatred consumed me. The Kents exploited that. They made me their pawn."

A haunted look crossed his face. "My father knew about their experiments but believed they were developing treatments. After the outbreak thirty years ago, he locked himself away for a week. When he emerged, he warned me not to follow his path." Harrison's voice broke. "I didn't understand until now."

Nathan's gaze darkened. His own grandfather had been infected. "What exactly were they trying to achieve?"

Harrison exhaled sharply. "You know what the wealthy and powerful fear most, don't you?"

Nathan's lips pressed into a thin line.

"Aging. Disease. Death." Harrison's laugh was hollow. "No medicine grants immortality, but they were willing to burn the world for even a few extra years. The royals wanted an antibody—something to rewrite human genetics. So they engineered a virus, tested it on people, then tried to develop counteragents."

His fist hit the desk. "The outbreak thirty years ago wasn't an accident. It was their failed experiment going rogue. The epidemic destroyed the princess's reputation, playing right into their hands."

The truth hung between them—a web of lies spanning generations. Nathan's tea had gone cold, mirroring the ice in his veins. Some wars weren't fought with weapons, but with viruses and betrayal.

And the battle was far from over.