Chapter 14 - The DiamondGenevieve dropped the ring.
Meredith picked it up.
Julian stared at her.
“You knew?”
“No.”
Genevieve was trembling.
“My mother gave it to me.”
Meredith examined the stone.
A tiny metallic edge appeared beneath the setting.
The crystal opened.
Inside was a microscopic storage device.
They accessed it.
One video file appeared.
The date was twenty-five years earlier.
Meredith clicked play.
Her mother appeared on-screen.
Alive.
Young.
Terrified.
She was sitting in an office with Adrian.
But Adrian was only a child.
Meredith's mother spoke.
“We don't have much time.”
Adrian nodded.
“If they discover you kept the evidence, they'll kill you.”
“I know.”
“Then why?”
“Because your father deserves to know the truth.”
The video continued.
Meredith's mother revealed that Meridian had been manipulated by a hidden leader.
Someone above the founders.
Someone who had infiltrated governments.
Someone called The Architect.
Meredith paused the video.
“The Architect.”
Julian looked at Richard.
“You know that name?”
Richard nodded.
“Everyone in Meridian feared it.”
“Who is it?”
Richard looked at Genevieve.
“Your mother.”
Genevieve recoiled.
“No.”
“She wasn't the public leader.”
Richard continued.
“But she was the Architect's daughter.”
Genevieve shook her head.
“My mother?”
“She was raised inside Meridian.”
The video resumed.
Meredith's mother spoke.
“The Architect will destroy every founder to preserve the network.”
Adrian said:
“Who is the Architect?”
Meredith's mother looked at the camera.
Then whispered:
“You.”
Adrian looked terrified.
Meredith stopped the video.
Julian stared.
“What does that mean?”
Richard answered.
“Adrian was groomed to become the next Architect.”
Meredith looked at the screen.
“So he isn't running Meridian.”
“No.”
Richard looked at the ring.
“He's trying to destroy it.”
Genevieve suddenly laughed.
Everyone turned.
She was crying.
“My mother knew.”
Julian stepped toward her.
“She knew what?”
Genevieve whispered:
“She sent me to marry you.”
Meredith watched her carefully.
“But you fell in love with Julian.”
Genevieve nodded.
“Yes.”
Julian's expression softened for a moment.
Then Genevieve said:
“And that's why she decided to kill me.”
Silence.
Julian stared.
“Why?”
“Because I was no longer useful.”
The vault speakers crackled.
Adrian's voice returned.
“That's not true.”
Genevieve looked up.
Adrian continued.
“She wanted to kill you because you remembered something.”
Genevieve froze.
“What?”
Adrian said:
“The night my father disappeared.”
Genevieve's face went white.
May you like
She whispered:
“I was there.”
