Paris – November 15, 1937 – 8:02 AM
All eyes were on Lorelei.
She kept the briefcase open like a confession.
Maps. Reports. Memos stamped with seals from countries that had never officially acknowledged their secrets.
She pointed to a document with a British header.
— "LUX was based on a 1916 protocol. It was called MORNING TIDE. Created by the British during the Great War."
Claire stepped closer.
— "Was it an assassination program?"
— "It was more than that. It was a calculation. What is a man, a woman, a diplomat worth… compared to the chance of preventing a war?"
Solène shook her head in disbelief.
— "They put a price on life."
Lorelei nodded.
— "And they exported the model. France called it LUX. The Germans had a more technical name. The Italians didn't even disguise it: 'Lista di Silenzio.'"
Émile picked up one of the papers.
— "But why now?"
Lorelei looked at Claire.
— "Because you broke the silence pact. And now, all of them want to burn the archives before someone like you rises somewhere else."
—
Berlin – Coordination Office – 8:11 AM
A message was sent through an encoded radio line:
"If she speaks about MORNING TIDE, activate contingency 9."
—
Rome – Palazzo Farnese – 8:14 AM
— "The French girl opened Pandora's box," said the secretary.
— "Then let her be the first to be devoured by it."
—
Madeleine's Safehouse – 8:16 AM
Claire stared at the papers laid out before her.
— "They won't try to silence us with diplomacy. They'll try with bullets."
— "Then we have to move fast," said Émile.
Lorelei pulled an envelope from the bottom of the briefcase.
— "Or do the opposite. Stop running. Go to the final archive. The original one. And destroy it while the whole world watches."
Claire looked up.
— "Where?"
Lorelei didn't hesitate:
— "Geneva. League of Nations' Secret Archive. Room C."
Silence.
Claire took a deep breath.
— "Then we go to the root."