Damien paused for a minute before asking, "Any other thing about the elite families?"
"Why?" She asked
"Just curious." He replied, "I mean the story you just told me is very interesting and I want to know more."
Although Dr. Riley wasn't convinced, she decided to tell him, "I don't know much but what I do know is that they have been tracking every illegitimate kid they could have possibly spawned… everyone with the DNA of their founder if you will."
"That can't be right… how do you even find that many people… how many would that even be?"
"Oh, more than you would think… from kids from one-night stands, children from outside wedlock that were hidden from their family to prevent disgrace, ones that lost their inheritance or perhaps suitors… over the minimum of 5 generations and those kids have families as well so yeah… Also you can't forget their spouses as well and loyal family retainers serving them for generations as well are included in the equation." Dr. Riley said as she kept examining the information on her pad.
Damien nodded slowly, lost in thought. It wasn't hard to see what they were trying to do.
They were building a structure... something like a clan system.
A bloodline-based power network.
Each family or group would train all their members and, using the enhancement serum, push them to their limits.
They would awaken with maxed-out physical stats from the start and hopefully they would also be talented.
That way, each family wouldn't just produce one powerhouse... they'd create a whole lineage of elites but under their control.
Damien could already picture it: a council of elders... former leaders or high-ranking members... retaining influence even if they weren't strong enough to fight.
They'd act as advisors or decision-makers, keeping some degree of control over the newly awakened generation.
It was a clever way to keep themselves in power while the actual strength were with the younger or more talented ones.
Although for this to work they might have to do a bit of brainwashing now.
As for relying on government or military forces?
That wasn't an option.
Sure, some families had influence over parts of their countries' governments, but not all of it.
And they weren't the only ones doing this... there were other powerful groups, cooperations, other families with their own agendas.
What would stop one's enhanced soldiers from turning on their creators once they outgrew their leash?
Nothing.
Think about it, what would stop you from turning on them when you have the power.
When you could start your own family why would you help another family become stronger. However if they were already your family it was more justified to work with them.
Right now, these elites controlled the world through money... by controlling markets, economies, and political favors.
But soon, that wouldn't matter. Not in a world ruled by power and awakened individuals.
Governments were already pushing back now, tired of being puppets talk less of when they had the power to wipe them out.
Some might've even discovered the truth behind the Awakening and were preparing their own survival plans.
And then there were wildcards... people like him.
People who uncovered the truth by accident or luck.
People who weren't supposed to be part of the plan… but now were.
Truthfully it was a good plan, and he most likely would have followed that option but unfortunately it wasn't opened to him, so he had to be smarter.
After a few minutes Damien asked, "I was wondering Dr. Riley was this always your plan… trying to improve an already existent serum that you know is nothing but a dead end."
"I don't see how that is your business now Mr. Morningstar," Dr. Riley frowned as she looked up from the pad.
Damien chuckled, "Since you read whatever file you did on me you should know a lot of things about me." Damien made a small pause before continuing, "And one very consistent thing about me is my… hmm generosity."
Indeed it was listed in his file how much he spent especially on the ladies he…
"You want to fuck me?" She asked with a frown.
"No... Well yes… but I also want you to work for me, As you can see, I will be needing more of this serum, and you know so much about it and you can also produce it as well." Damien said.
Dr. Riley paused as her thoughts drifted.
Was this always the life she wanted, the life she had?
No, this wasn't the life she'd imagined for herself.
She never planned to waste her career studying a medical dud or babysitting spoiled heirs and working with criminals.
Back then, she had bigger goals...risky ones, sure, but bold.
She had been trying to push human evolution forward by borrowing from nature.
Her idea was to study animal physiology, isolate useful traits, and experiment on real human subjects.
Strength. Endurance. Regeneration.
Anything that could be improved and gave an edge to human race.
But when the board found out.
They claimed ethical violations, human testing without approval, unauthorized procedures.
She was kicked out, her medical license revoked even though everything could have been easily covered up.
Overnight, her career was over.
This job had been the only thing close to what she once worked on.
Human improvement and evolution.
She knew her current employers were already running out of patience.
They hadn't seen the results they expected, and the only reason she hadn't been replaced was because she still brought in just enough funding to justify the money they spent… barely enough to keep the facility from bleeding money.
But that wouldn't last forever.
As for the sex? Honestly, she didn't care much either way.
Her work was her life. She practically lived in this lab.
Slept here. Ate here. She would do anything to keep this life and even gain the one she had before this.
Sex was just another function of the body.
Sure, she was new to it. Her few attempts in the past had ended before they really started, and most of her satisfaction came from studying or worse case toys.
She'd watched mating behavior in animals for years. Biologically, it all made sense.
Damien gave her time to think before saying, "What do you think?"
Dr. Riley sighed, "I… agree but you have to make the call first and sign a couple of documents before we… begin."
***
Damien got in touch with Dr. Riley's employer... the Kael family. Unsurprisingly, they were more than happy to sell both the research lab and Dr. Riley herself to him for a bargain price: less than $10 million.
The $10 million was merely a curtsey really with the lab worth almost ten times that.
To them, the lab had already served its purpose and It no longer useful to their goals and was almost bleeding them for money.
Enzo would handle all the paperwork and payments tomorrow.
Damien understood exactly what was happening.
When a person or a family becomes rich enough, money stops being the main priority.
At that level, what matters more is relationships, influence, and making smart connections.
The Kael family no longer needed Dr. Riley or the lab because they had already completed their own version of the enhancement project.
And unlike the major elite families, the Kaels didn't have a long lineage… maybe just two or three generations.
That meant they didn't have a massive network of descendants to enhance or control.
Plus, they had the ability to use the enhancement serum themselves.
So to them, keeping the lab running was just an unnecessary expense.
In short, they dumped the leftovers onto Damien at a discount.
And Damien, knowing the real value of what he was buying, didn't mind one bit.