Chapter 4 - The Boy Who Knew Too MuchNobody spoke.
Noah stood in the doorway with rainwater dripping from his hair.
The holographic display cast pale light across his face.
The stranger with the scar stared at him.
"Noah."
The boy stepped backward.
Adrian immediately moved between them.
"You know him."
Noah's eyes remained on the stranger.
"He's one of them."
"One of who?"
Noah didn't answer.
The stranger raised his remote.
"Come here, kid."
Noah shook his head.
"Don't."
The stranger laughed.
"You don't understand what you're carrying."
Noah whispered,
"I understand enough."
Adrian looked at the boy.
"What did my engine show because of you?"
Noah glanced at the Asterion.
"He wasn't supposed to activate it."
The stranger's expression changed.
"What did you say?"
Noah pointed toward the engine.
"He woke the archive."
Victor stared.
"Archive?"
Noah nodded.
"My father hid everything there."
Adrian stepped toward him.
"Where is your father?"
Noah's expression hardened.
"Dead."
Adrian's heart tightened.
"You saw him die?"
Noah looked away.
"No."
"Then how do you know?"
The boy didn't answer.
The scarred man suddenly moved.
Fast.
He lunged toward Noah.
Adrian intercepted him.
The two crashed into the side of a workbench.
Victor shouted for help.
The stranger struck Adrian and broke free.
He ran toward Noah.
Noah turned and sprinted.
The man chased him.
Adrian grabbed a tool tray and threw it.
Metal exploded across the floor.
The stranger slipped.
Noah disappeared through a side door.
Victor slammed the door behind him and locked it.
The stranger cursed.
Then he pulled out a small device and pressed it against the lock.
Victor stared.
"What's that?"
"A problem."
The door blew open.
The man stepped through.
But Noah was already gone.
Adrian heard an engine outside.
A motorcycle.
He rushed to the loading dock.
Through the rain, he saw Noah climbing onto an old bicycle.
The boy pedaled away.
Adrian shouted.
"Noah!"
The boy didn't stop.
Adrian stood in the doorway.
The stranger appeared behind him.
"He'll come back."
Adrian turned.
"Why?"
The stranger smiled.
"Because you have something he needs."
"What?"
The man looked toward the Asterion.
"The second key."
Adrian's face changed.
"What second key?"
The stranger laughed.
"You really don't know anything."
He walked backward toward the emergency exit.
Adrian grabbed his shoulder.
The man twisted free.
Then he whispered:
"Ask your mother."
Adrian froze.
His mother had died twenty years ago.
The stranger disappeared into the rain.
Victor stepped beside Adrian.
"What did he mean?"
Adrian didn't answer.
He was already thinking about something else.
His mother had once been the financial director of Vale Motors.
She had controlled every major research project.
Including the one involving Elias.
Adrian had never found a connection between her and Elias.
Until now.
He returned to the office.
He opened an old safe.
Inside were documents he'd never touched.
At the bottom was a sealed envelope.
His mother's handwriting was across the front.
FOR ADRIAN ONLY.
His hands shook as he opened it.
The first page was a photograph.
His mother.
Elias.
A young woman Adrian had never seen before.
And a toddler.
Noah.
Adrian stared at the photograph.
The young woman had dark hair.
The same eyes as Noah.
The name beneath the photo read:
Mara Reed.
Adrian's chest tightened.
He knew that name.
Mara had been his mother's private assistant.
She had vanished around the same time Elias disappeared.
Adrian turned the page.
There was a handwritten sentence.
Elias did not betray us. I did.
Adrian stopped breathing.
Another page.
And if Noah ever comes looking for you, tell him the truth.
Below that were four words.
You are his uncle.
Adrian dropped the letter.
The garage suddenly felt silent again.
Then Victor shouted from the workshop.
"Adrian!"
Adrian ran outside.
The Asterion was smoking.
Its engine had shut itself off.
The holographic display had changed.
A countdown was flashing.
ARCHIVE LOCKDOWN: 09:59
Victor pointed at the screen.
"What happens when it reaches zero?"
Adrian looked at the photograph in his hand.
"I don't know."
May you like
A new message appeared.
NOAH REED REQUIRED.
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