Neutral Territory – November 17, 1937 – 6:04 AM
The radio crackled.
The broadcast wasn't official, nor public — but those who needed to hear... were listening.
On the other end, underground reporters recorded every syllable. Ambassadors woke in cold beds. Ministers, in bunkers, took nonstop calls.
Claire spoke with a steady voice.
— "This is not a declaration of war. It is a notice of ending."
She read the first sections of the LUX protocol.
Detailed dates, codenames, operations erased from official records.
Then, she paused.
— "The rest will be released soon. Unless the governments involved publicly sign a formal termination of all similar programs."
— "Not a secret accord. But a transparent commitment. With a deadline. And witnesses."
—
Berlin – Foreign Affairs Office – 7:02 AM
A diplomat threw his glass against the wall.
— "She's holding the truth hostage."
Another replied:
— "No. She's turned truth into a weapon. And left us holding the blade."
—
Paris – Intercepted Radio Station – 7:14 AM
Madeleine listened in silence, with a near-sad smile.
— "She doesn't want to be a martyr. But she will be. They just haven't realized it yet."
—
Geneva – Clandestine Café – 7:39 AM
Two young men listened to the replayed transmission on a makeshift phonograph.
— "She asked for something impossible."
— "Maybe. But someone had to ask."
—
Mountain Safehouse – 8:00 AM
Claire turned off the microphone.
For a moment, there was absolute silence.
Then Lorelei said:
— "You didn't start a revolution. You built a mirror. And now they'll have to see themselves in it."
—
Up in the mountains, the cold grew stronger.
But down below, in the world's capitals…
the heat of response was rising.