Don't Mess with the Girl with Candy novel Chapter 1039

"Right here." Felton immediately handed a tablet to Shanley, who held it at a comfortable angle for Juniper to read.

As they scrolled through the dossiers, a chilling pattern emerged.

Every single kidnapped scientist specialized in the exact same field: Human Genetics.

Shanley's voice dropped to a grim murmur. "A massive medical facility dedicated solely to genetic research."

"Yeah." Juniper nodded slowly, the pieces clicking into place.

They now knew exactly what Sanctum Holdings was doing. The Gene Modification Project.

If they succeeded in altering human DNA on a mass scale, the global fallout would be catastrophic.

"Fast forward. I want to see the patient," Juniper instructed.

The video skipped ahead to Silas's room. The camera perfectly captured the emaciated, hollow-cheeked man lying on the bed.

But the visual was much worse on screen. Without the adrenaline of the moment, they could clearly see the sheer amount of trauma inflicted on his body. His arms were bruised and covered in needle tracks, and a jagged surgical scar ran across his shaved scalp.

It was horrific. A lesser man would have died years ago. To survive that level of torment—and actually wake up—required an unimaginable will to live.

"Zoom in on his face," Shanley ordered, leaning closer to the screen, his dark eyes analyzing the man's bone structure. "Does he look familiar to you?"

Juniper stared at the screen for a long time before shaking her head.

She felt a strange, inexplicable pull toward him, but she was absolutely certain she had never seen this man before in her life.

"I feel like I've seen him somewhere," Shanley muttered. "Maybe he's a famous researcher we came across in a textbook."

But the man was too emaciated. Standard facial recognition couldn't get a solid read, and there were no immediate matches in the database.

"Run a digital reconstruction," Shanley ordered the tech team. "Restore his original bone density and facial fat, then run it through the system again."

"Yes, Boss."

VERIFYCAPTCHA_LABELVerify