At least someone was thinking straight.

[Nine: You two, pack your things. Tomorrow you’re flying with me to Solenia, then on to the Isle of Veil.]

A second later, she wired a hundred million to Dr. David. He relaxed immediately, just waiting patiently for them to come back.

When Charlotte finished the call and closed her laptop, someone knocked at the door.

“Charlotte, the item you wanted has arrived,” a maid announced softly.

“Thanks.” Charlotte stood up, opened the door, and took the old, worn box from the maid’s hands.

This was the box her mom had left her nineteen years ago, the day she left the Main Family. Charlotte wasn’t sure what was inside—maybe some of her grandmother’s things—but she couldn’t risk missing any clue about the catalyst.

Holding the box close, Charlotte went straight to Nora’s bedroom.

Inside, Nora sat on the edge of the sofa while Franco was packing up their bags. As soon as Nora spotted Charlotte and the box, she seemed to understand what was about to happen.

“Give us a minute, will you?” she said quietly.

Franco didn’t hesitate. He turned around and slipped out, the kind of practiced, gentle exit that made Charlotte’s chest ache a little.

She smiled, just for a moment, then waited for the door to click shut before carrying the box over to her mom.

Even though it was old, everything inside was surprisingly well preserved. Nora recognized the box immediately. She had left it for Charlotte all those years ago.

“You’re hoping to find something of Grandma’s in here?” Nora asked, her hand brushing over the books and jewelry. Her voice was soft. “Are you worried she might’ve hidden the catalyst inside?”

Charlotte nodded. “Yeah.”

“There are a lot of your grandma’s things here,” Nora said, but her expression was serious, not happy at all. “If your grandma really was Mrs. W, then she definitely took the catalyst. But…”

“But what?” Charlotte tightened her grip on the box. Her eyes grew darker.

“The catalyst is really hard to preserve. Forget about whether it could survive a flight of dozens of hours from the Isle of Veil to Cabinda…” Nora shook her head. “Even if she made it back to Cabinda, your grandma wouldn’t have had the resources to build a proper cold storage unit for the catalyst, not in such a short time.”

It wasn’t the kind of thing a regular hospital freezer could handle. The requirements were extreme, the costs unbelievably high.

Even now, only the research labs at X Organization and N Organization could pull it off.

“So honestly, I don’t know if your grandma managed to save the catalyst at all…” Nora’s voice faded. She took out everything that had belonged to her mother and laid it on the side.

“These medical books, these pieces of jewelry… Grandma left them for me,” she said. “None of them could be used to store the catalyst.”

Charlotte frowned. Her voice was rough but she sounded completely certain. “Grandma was Mrs. W. She built a genetics lab, created the catalyst, and managed to get it off the Isle of Veil. There’s no way she just let it go. The catalyst has to be out there.”

Nora watched as Charlotte carefully checked through each item. She couldn’t help worrying, wishing her daughter didn’t have to work so hard.

“Lottie…” Nora started, then suddenly stopped, as if she had just realized something. Her eyes widened. “Wait. Something’s missing.”

Charlotte looked up, her eyes narrowing. “Missing? What is it?”

Nora double-checked the items, then looked up, certain. “Your grandma’s bracelet. It’s not here.”