Serena leaned comfortably against Nicholas's chest, accepting another bite of food straight from his fork, her voice a lazy drawl. "I am currently the officially mandated medical consultant for Specimen Fourteen. Before I accepted the contract, I made sure to memorize every single clause in the ship's asset-transfer protocol."
"Fourteen is classified as an apex-level biological hazard. If the Obsidian Sun wants to walk him off this ship, they have to submit a verified medical extraction team, state-of-the-art biological sustainment hardware, and a fully armored transport rig explicitly designed for lethal entities."
"If they fail even a single metric, the Commodore has the legal right to void the handover."
Nicholas's eyebrow ticked upward, thoroughly entertained as he continued feeding her.
Serena swallowed the food and flashed a wicked grin. "In the past, when the Obsidian Sun still had VIP clearance with Project Zero-Transit, they could just forge the paperwork. Half of those requirements would never even see the light of day."
"But now..."
Her smirk turned absolutely diabolical, her eyes shimmering with cunning delight. "Their entire VIP status is burned to ash. This 'Anonymous Bidder 01' has no choice but to stand in line like a common civilian and jump through every single bureaucratic hoop the ship demands."
Nicholas threw his head back and laughed. "So Anonymous Bidder 01... just dropped a hundred and thirty billion dollars for the privilege of waiting in line. That is genuinely spectacular."
Serena blinked her eyes, the very picture of innocence. "It's not my fault he refused to admit who he was!"
The Commodore had given The Raven every opportunity to come clean, but he had aggressively maintained that Fourteen had zero ties to the Obsidian Sun.
Well, actions had consequences. Now he had to suffer through the agonizing, humiliating process of pretending to be an ordinary buyer.
Ha!
It certainly wasn't her fault that she had publicized Fourteen's bio-data and undeniably linked him to the syndicate.
The ship was paying her an astronomical fee for her medical expertise, after all.
She was simply being a diligent, ethical professional.
If anyone was to blame, it was The Raven... for being so obnoxiously arrogant and personally inviting her onto this floating death trap in the first place.
He had practically begged her to orchestrate his ruin.
Watching the foxy, manipulative delight dancing in her eyes,
Nicholas's heart swelled with total absolute devotion. "Euring the tiger
down from its mountain. A flawless execution, sweetheart."
"They don't have a choice. Fourteen is simply too valuable," Serena said, her eyes curving into bright crescents. They can't just send some disposable cannon fodderto sign the papers, and they can't slap together a makeshift medical rig. He's too volatile."
"He's the crown jewel of their research... and they literally just paid a hundred and
thirty billion for him. They won't risk a catastrophic failure."
"And since I am the only authorized medical lead, the final handover
protocol dictates that I must be physically present to verify his vitals before extraction." Serena's eyes flashed with predatory anticipation "Which means, if they want
Fourteen, they have to walk right up to me."
"The second the final handover begins, I'll have a direct line straight to their fortress in Whitecliffe Harbor."
As Serena laid out the final strokes of her masterpiece, she was practically glowing.
She was thrilled that the hunt was finally coming to an end. Thrilled that she finally had the leverage to take back everything that belonged to Aria Wynn.
But... the moment the words left her mouth.
The arm clamped around her waist tightened like a vice.
Before she could even react, sharp teeth lightly sank into her earlobe.
It wasn't enough to break the skin, but the sudden, rough nip sent a jolt of electricity straight down her spine, accompanied by the searing heat of his breath against her neck.
It was a blatant, possessive punishment.
"Ah!" Serena gasped, entirely caught off guard by the sudden, sharp thrill.