Strong Hearts: The Legacy of Do Sisters- By: Tina Marie
Chapter 8 - Masks, Lies, and a Familiar Face
The Blue Star Dynamics Innovation Summit looked like a paradise for tech nerds and billionaires.
Held in a glimmering hotel in downtown Seoul, it was all holographic displays, sleek drones, and executives pretending they cared about “changing the world.”
But for Do Rae and Do Rin, it was a hunting ground.
Rae wore an all-black pantsuit, fake glasses, and a conference badge that read “J. Lee – Logistics”.
Rin was in a crisp blazer, hair tied back, her badge reading “H. Park – Systems Analysis”.
They moved separately, as planned. No contact. No eye rolls. No twin telepathy.
Just surveillance. Extraction. And if needed—detonation.
Rin slipped through the crowd like a shadow, tracking a name she’d pulled from Finch’s flash drive: Dr. Han Ji Myung— former chief of biochemical development under Mi Na’s prototype team. Now, Blue Star’s lead consultant in “adaptive enhancements.”
She found him presenting in a private room labeled Restricted Access – Blue Tier Only.
So naturally, she picked the lock.
Meanwhile, Rae loitered near the refreshments table, snagging three sodas and eavesdropping on a pair of execs arguing about “reliability rates” and “public rollout delays.”
But just as she turned to fake another casual stroll—someone bumped into her.
Hard.
She spun around, ready to glare, when her breath caught.
He was tall.
Sharp suit.
Clear eyes that flicked to her face and widened just slightly.
Then came the smirk.
“...Rae?”
Jin Seok.
Rookie cop.
Her secret crush since sophomore year.
Last seen chasing carjackers and writing her annoying parking tickets like love letters.
Rae froze. “What are you doing here?”
“I could ask you the same thing,” he said, lowering his voice. “You’re not exactly blending in.”
He glanced at her badge. “J. Lee? Really?”
“Why are you here?” she demanded.
He leaned closer. “Assigned undercover. Joint task force. Blue Star’s being investigated for illicit medical testing and offshore trafficking. But you don’t know that, because you are not supposed to be here.”
Rae cursed under her breath.
“So either you leave now,” Jin Seok added, “or I report you… and probably get fired for letting you go.”
She sighed. “Well, since you’re here, maybe you can help me find a certain lab guy named Han Ji—”
“I saw your sister follow him ten minutes ago.”
Rae paled.
Then sprinted.
Inside the restricted room, Rin had cornered Dr. Han.
“Why are you replicating Mi Na’s work?” she demanded. “Do you even know what that formula did to people?”
Han Ji Myung didn’t even flinch.
“You don’t understand what’s at stake. This isn’t about legacy. It’s about evolution. Mi Na didn’t fail—she started something bigger than blood.”
Rin stepped closer. “If you’re trying to evolve humans, why keep tracking me?”
Han smiled.
Because that’s when the trap snapped shut.
“Because, Do Rin… you’re the control group.”
Rae burst in.
Dr. Han pressed something on his wristband.
The lights flickered.
From hidden walls, two men in tactical gear emerged—backs straight, eyes empty.
Rin stared. “Enhanced.”
“They volunteered,” Han said smoothly. “Didn’t even need full doses. Just fragments of the original serum, mixed with your genetic trace.”
Rae’s fists clenched. “They’re using our blood?”
Han smiled. “You’re not just your mother’s daughters. You’re the future market.”
Ten seconds later, the room was chaos.
Rae dropped one enhanced guard with a flying kick that shattered the projection screen.
Rin used the broken display cord to trip the other, smashing him into the control table.
Glass. Sparks. Screams.
Jin Seok burst in just as Rae lifted a six-foot man over her head.
He blinked.
“Okay. Yeah. That explains a few things.”
The twins escaped through the service stairwell, sprinting into the night with a stolen data drive and one stunned police officer who now knew way too much.
Outside, in a black sedan, a woman watched the hotel entrance.
Long coat. Sunglasses. No emotion.
Do Mi Na whispered to herself, watching her nieces disappear into the dark:
“Let the hunt begin.”
Other Chapters
- Chapter 1 - Eighteen Candles and a Cracked Sidewalk
- Chapter 2 - The First Rule of Strength Club
- Chapter 3 - The Forgotten One
- Chapter 4 - The Woman Who Walked Away
- Chapter 5 - The Ones Who Never Hid
- Chapter 6 - The Prophecy We Were Never Meant to Hear
- Chapter 7 - Off the Grid, Into the Fire
- Chapter 8 - Masks, Lies, and a Familiar Face
- Chapter 9 - Subject Zero
- Chapter 10 - The Ghost Who Runs the Lab
- Chapter 11 - Prototype X
- Chapter 12 - Mom Already Knew
- Chapter 13 - The Broadcast Heard Around the World
- Chapter 14 - Symbols of Resistance
- Chapter 15 - The Lines We Draw
- Chapter 16 - The Warning Shot
- Chapter 17 - Beneath the Oath
- Chapter 18 - Legacy in the Dark
- Chapter 19 - Inhale the Fire
- Chapter 20 - The Second Vial
- Chapter 21 - Operation Chimera
- Chapter 22 - The Reckoning Broadcast
- Chapter 23 - Strike First
- Chapter 24 - Ghost in the Armor
- Chapter 25 - Escape Protocol
- Chapter 26 - War Council
- Chapter 27 - Island of No Return
- Chapter 28 - Queen's Gambit
- Chapter 29 - Ascension
- Chapter 30 - The Morning After
- Chapter 31 - Clean Slates and Cracked Foundations
- Chapter 32 - Awakening Protocol
- Chapter 33 - Smoke Signals
- Chapter 34 - Burn Notice
- Chapter 35 - Firestarter
- Chapter 36 - Frequency War
- Chapter 37 - Tower Storm
- Chapter 38 - Aftershock
- Chapter 39 - Sparks and Silence
- Chapter 40 - Reika
- Chapter 41 - Fog and Firewalls
- Chapter 42 - The Architect
- Chapter 43 - Descent
- Chapter 44 - Pulse Point
- Chapter 45 - Surfacing
- Chapter 46 - Embers
- Chapter 47 - Phoenix Rising
- Chapter 48 - Threshold
- Chapter 49 - Resonance
- Chapter 50 - Homecoming
- Chapter 51 - Glitches and Glances
- Chapter 52 - Echoes and Ultimatums
- Chapter 53 - Crossroads
- Chapter 54 - Mirrors and Misdirection
- Chapter 55 - Double Lives
- Chapter 56 - Fractures
- Chapter 57 - Ghosts and Codes
- Chapter 58 - Resurfaced
- Chapter 59 - Apex
- Chapter 60 - Bloodline Breakpoint
- Chapter 61 - Ashes and Walnut Trees
- Chapter 62 - Roots in the Ash
- Chapter 63 - The Final Whisper
- Chapter 64 - Echo Chamber
- Chapter 65 - The Reckoning Room
- Chapter 66 - A New Flame
- Chapter 67 - The Proposal
- Chapter 68 - The Choice Revisted
- Chapter 69 - The Ceremony
- Chapter 70 - Epilogue- Ten Years Later