Background

Jean-Baptiste LaCroix was born in France, Bordeaux, to a French father and an American mother. His mother was a deaf teacher, while his father was a driven businessman in the wine sector. Their success ensured that the family never knew poverty. J.B grew up alongside two siblings, being the youngest in the household. His sister who was an athletic freak, and his brother who was a religious fanatic. From an early age, LaCroix showed an awful obsession with books from the old world, those from differnet periods of time, written by people long gone. He read and read, not for pleasure, but for understanding. Among the many trash stored in his family's attic, was an old tome. Part journal, part coded manuscript, however, its origins were unclear. The tome was incomplete and largely indecipherable, but it never stopped fascinating him. The core subject followed an old researcher that made fascinating discoveries from the human body. J.B never claimed it taught him anything concrete, it only reinforced something, a belief he had, a quote that commonly was repeated in the book. Evolution does not ask for permission, it only requires sacrifice. Little LaCroix was considered a gifted child, a term he considered disappointedly imprecise. A gift implies intent, a giver. His wasn’t ‘gifted’ or ‘bestowed’, he worked for it, day in and day out. Through the years of hard work, his academnic brilliance earned him a scholarschip to Harvard, America, the land of the free. The place where his father met his mother before they decided to settle at father's childhood city, starting a family there. With them going back, one could call it, full circle. Naturally, his siblings were ecstatic. It didn't take long before they settled anew, LaCroix studying medicine at the top school of that time. He excelled in anatomy and surgery, but gained a reputation for pushing 'ethical' boundaries. To him, suffering was data, and the line between healing and harm was a matter of intent rather than the overall outcome. At Harvard, he formed lasting connections, including a business major, whos ambitions matched LaCroix’s disregard for conventional morality, though as LaCroix was focused on learning from his research, this friend was more obsessed with money. After a well deserved graduation, earning his medical license, Doctor LaCroix’s career unraveled rather quickly. Accusations of malpractice followed him, experimental procedures, excessive intervention and a pattern of patients harmed in pursuit of understanding'. It's up in the air if this was truly the case, but his license was revoked, ending any real future in medicine. It was only then that his former classmate and friend returned with a proposition. With years of business experience and a fine line of private networks, he offered J.B access to human subjects outside the reach of unwanted eyes. Undocumented individuals, the desperate, the forgotten, those nobody will miss. Aaaaand In return, J.B just had to help out a little bit, he would need to harvest organs and perform procedures for profit. An offer he would eventually shake hands on. LaCroix ran a double-life, a doctor part of a pharmaceutical front named Mercurysettled in California at day, but a surgeon working on the trafficked at night. During this period, J.B developed an attachment to one of his victims. Whether through manipulation, dependency, or something resembling affection, though certainly a mutual bond, the relationship evolved into marriage. They had twins, a daughter born blind and a son born physically weak. LaCroix viewed them not quite as children to be protected, but as legacies to be shaped. He intended for them to inherit his intellect and continue his work, willingly or otherwise. As the operation expanded, so would demand increase. LaCroix's role shifted from contractor to higherup. What began as a simple exchange of services that benefitted both, bodies provided, organs harvested, quickly proved difficult without medical oversight. Mistakes were costly, losses frequent. LaCroix alone understood how to keep subjects alive long enough to be useful, how to extract value without drawing attention, and how to dispose of what remained. These skills were too important to the business, he couldn't be thrown away. Gradually, decisions stopped being made without him. He set standards, procedures, rules. Logistics, recruitment, and transport fell under his vision, while his friend did all the business side of things, making the business truly shared work. LaCroix formalized his side of the operation, naming it The Nest. In recent years, the operation expanded eastward. A 'lucrative opportunity' in Louisville required direct oversight, but his business partner was unable to go. Despite claiming to not be interested, LaCroix was pressured into going himself. To avoid problems, his friend arranged passage aboard a luxury train under the disguise of medical crew. Reluctantly, Doctor LaCroix accepted.