Chapter 8 - What Daniel DiscoveredThe folder contained hundreds of pages.
Daniel had been documenting everything.
Jaylen had demonstrated extraordinary pattern recognition before age seven.
By nine, he could reconstruct mechanical systems after seeing them once.
At eleven, he had independently solved the efficiency problem that had crippled Project Orion.
Daniel had realized something terrifying.
Jaylen wasn't merely gifted.
He understood energy systems differently.
He could visualize complex interactions without equations.
The equations came afterward.
Wendell read the final report.
Jaylen has an intuitive model of dynamic energy recovery.
Then another line:
He sees losses as pathways, not failures.
Wendell looked at the boy.
“You solved Orion because you think differently.”
Jaylen shrugged.
“I just kept trying.”
“No.”
Wendell shook his head.
“It's more than that.”
Jaylen pointed at the drawings.
“My dad said smart people make problems too complicated.”
Wendell smiled faintly.
“That sounds like Daniel.”
Then the lights in the facility went out.
Marcus immediately whispered:
“Someone's here.”
Footsteps echoed through the corridor.
Slow.
Measured.
Multiple people.
Wendell shut the case.
“Back exit.”
They moved.
A flashlight appeared around the corner.
“Mr. Hayes.”
Richard Voss.
Wendell stopped.
“How did you find us?”
Richard smiled.
“You've never been good at disappearing.”
Security personnel entered behind him.
Marcus reached for his weapon.
Richard raised a hand.
“Let's not make this bloody.”
“What do you want?”
“The prototype.”
“No.”
Richard laughed.
“You still don't understand.”
“Explain it.”
Richard stepped closer.
“Your company is worth three billion dollars because investors believe you control the future.”
Wendell stared.
Richard continued.
“But the future isn't yours.”
He looked at Jaylen.
“It's his.”
Jaylen stepped forward.
“What do you want from me?”
Richard's expression softened.
“For years, I watched your father teach you.”
Jaylen stared.
“You knew him.”
“Yes.”
“You killed him.”
Richard didn't answer.
Jaylen's face hardened.
“Did you?”
Richard finally spoke.
“I didn't kill Daniel.”
Wendell frowned.
“Then who did?”
Richard smiled.
“You've been asking the wrong question.”
He looked at Wendell.
“The question is why Daniel trusted you.”
Then Richard's guards moved.
Marcus fought back.
The corridor erupted in chaos.
Wendell grabbed Jaylen and ran.
They reached the stairwell.
Behind them came shouting.
At the bottom, a door slammed.
They escaped into the night.
But the metal case was gone.
May you like
Richard had taken it.
And inside the case was Daniel's final Orion prototype.
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