Chapter 769
Chapter 769:
The line clicked dead.
Skye lowered the phone, her hand shaking. “He thinks I have a code p>
“Richard,” Liam said instantly. “We need to talk to Richard. Now p>
They left the office, leaving Victoria and Julian to man the fort. The drive back to the Vance Estate was a blur of speed and silence.
“I chose the name Oracle because of… intuition,” Skye said, staring at the road, her mind racing. “Because I felt like I could see what was coming. But if my father planted something in my head… could that be why p>
“It’s possible,” Liam said gently. “Trauma can bury memories, but it can also preserve them. If he hid a key inside you, Skye, you’ve been carrying a weapon your whole life without knowing it p>
Richard Sterling was sitting up in bed when they arrived. He looked better, some color returning to his cheeks. He stared out the window at the garden, lost in thought.
“Dad?” Skye asked softly.
Richard turned. His eyes, so like hers, filled with tears.
“My brave girl p>
Skye went to him and hugged him carefully. He felt fragile, like a bird made of hollow bones. But his grip on her arm was surprisingly strong.
“We need to ask you something,” Liam said, standing at the foot of the bed. “The Architect called. He’s asking for a code. An algorithm p>
Richard’s face went ashen. He closed his eyes, a pained expression crossing his features.
“I hoped… I hoped he would think it died with me,” Richard whispered.
“What is it?” Skye asked.
“It’s not just code,” Richard said, his voice trembling. “It’s a key. Twenty years ago, before the accident… before everything… I was working on a predictive model for market trends. But I stumbled onto something else. A way to track dark money. To see the hidden flows of the global economy. I called it Project Insight p>
Skye frowned. “Insight? But the Architect… he thinks it’s related to Oracle p>
T𝘩𝗂𝗌 соոt𝗲𝗇t 𝘪ѕ 𝘢uthе𝗻𝗍𝗂𝗰 𝖿ro𝗺 𝖻е.𝖼о𝗆
“A coincidence,” Richard said, looking at her with a sad smile. “Or perhaps fate. You named your company Oracle because you have your mother’s instinct. But the key… the actual encryption key for Project Insight… I hid it in the one place no one would look. Inside a lullaby I used to sing to you p>
“The lullaby,” Skye whispered. She hummed it sometimes when she was stressed. It was a simple, haunting melody.
“The musical notes,” Richard explained. “They correspond to a numerical sequence. A frequency cipher. If you translate the melody into Hertz, it forms the decryption key p>
Skye felt a chill run down her spine. She had been humming the code to dismantle the Syndicate since she was a child.
“The Architect knows,” Liam said grimly. “That’s why he’s after Skye. She is the key p>
“We have to get it out of her head,” Richard said urgently. “Or he will crack her open to get it p>
“We’re not giving him anything,” Skye said, her voice hard. “We’re going to use it. If this code tracks dark money… can it track him p>
Richard nodded slowly. “Yes. If you activate the full sequence, it will illuminate every account he owns. It will expose him to the world p>