Chapter 9: One Move Behind
The evidence bag slipped from Hayes' fingers onto the stone floor.
No one spoke.
Moments earlier, every member of the group had seen the flash drive inside the sealed bag.
Now...
It was gone.
Only a neatly folded note remained.
You are still one move behind.
Hayes picked up the bag again, inspecting every edge.
"The seal hasn't been broken."
One of the security officers frowned.
"That's impossible."
"It should be."
Hayes corrected him.
"But it isn't."
Julian took the bag.
His gray eyes studied the transparent plastic for several long seconds.
Then he looked at Arthur.
"This wasn't magic."
Arthur nodded.
"No."
"It was preparation."
Back in the underground archive, Hayes ordered the entire chamber sealed.
"No one enters."
"No one leaves."
"Forensics."
"Fingerprint dusting."
"DNA collection."
"Luminol."
"I want every square inch examined."
Within minutes, technicians flooded the hidden room.
Ultraviolet lights illuminated the ancient walls.
Laser scanners mapped every surface.
An hour later...
The lead forensic analyst approached Hayes.
"Sir."
"What did you find?"
The analyst looked uneasy.
"Only one complete set of fresh footprints."
"The ones we already saw."
"And?"
"They stop."
Hayes frowned.
"What do you mean?"
"They simply..."
"...end."
The final footprint rested in the middle of the chamber.
Beyond it...
Nothing.
No return trail.
No hidden hatch.
No rope marks.
Nothing.
Hayes stared silently.
Someone had entered.
Someone had left.
Without leaving.
Meanwhile, Emma wandered through the mansion with Samuel.
She carried her stuffed elephant beneath one arm and hummed a tune Julian had played on the piano.
Samuel smiled.
"You have a good memory."
Emma grinned.
"I like songs."
They reached the mansion's indoor greenhouse.
Sunlight poured through the glass ceiling.
Flowers bloomed in every direction.
Emma gasped.
"It's a jungle!"
Samuel laughed.
"It feels like one."
She ran toward a small koi pond.
The colorful fish gathered near the surface.
Emma crouched.
"Hello, fishies."
One large white koi swam closer.
She reached out carefully.
"You have funny lips."
Samuel couldn't help laughing again.
Not far away...
A woman wearing a florist's uniform quietly arranged fresh orchids.
No one paid attention to her.
Why would they?
She had worked for the estate's flower supplier for almost a year.
At least...
That was what the paperwork said.
Hidden inside one orchid pot sat a tiny encrypted transmitter.
The woman pressed it once while pretending to adjust a ribbon.
A voice answered.
"Status."
"The archive has been discovered."
"And the child?"
"Safe."
The voice remained calm.
"As expected."
The florist hesitated.
"They're moving faster than anticipated."
"So are we."
The connection ended.
She calmly resumed trimming flowers.
Arthur gathered everyone in the study that afternoon.
Claire.
Julian.
Hayes.
Samuel.
The atmosphere had changed.
This was no longer about a possible family reunion.
It was an active investigation.
Arthur spread several old maps across the table.
"For years..."
"I believed the attack targeted Aurora."
He paused.
"I was wrong."
Julian looked up.
"What do you mean?"
Arthur tapped the underground archive on the blueprint.
"The attack wasn't only about killing a child."
"It was about keeping us away from this."
"The archive."
Hayes nodded slowly.
"If no one searched here..."
"...whatever was hidden remained hidden."
Julian folded his arms.
"So what was hidden?"
Arthur answered honestly.
"I don't know."
Hayes entered carrying a small metal box.
"We found this behind the archive wall."
Arthur frowned.
"It wasn't there before."
Hayes opened the lid.
Inside lay an old pocket watch.
Silver.
Engraved with the Mercer family crest.
Arthur's expression softened.
"This belonged to my father."
Julian picked it up.
The watch had stopped.
Exactly at 11:47.
He pressed the winding crown.
Nothing happened.
Emma, who had wandered into the study unnoticed, tilted her head.
"It's broken."
Julian smiled faintly.
"It seems that way."
Emma took the watch gently.
She turned it over.
"What's this little bump?"
Everyone looked.
A tiny raised dot on the back cover.
Arthur blinked.
"There wasn't..."
Emma pressed it.
Click.
The watch sprang open.
Not where the clockwork sat.
Another hidden compartment.
Inside rested a tightly folded strip of paper.
Hayes exhaled slowly.
"Another secret."
Arthur unfolded it carefully.
Only four words appeared.
The chapel was decoy.
Silence.
Julian read it again.
"The chapel..."
"...was never the real objective."
Arthur nodded grimly.
"Someone wanted us to waste time."
Hayes suddenly understood.
"The photograph."
"The flash drive."
"The hidden tunnel."
"It was all staged."
Julian finished the thought.
"They're leading us."
At that very moment...
One of Hayes' radios crackled.
"Control to Commander."
"Go ahead."
"We have an emergency."
"What happened?"
"Vault Three."
Hayes' face changed.
"What about it?"
"The biometric lock..."
"...just opened."
Arthur's head snapped up.
"That's impossible."
Only two people possessed access.
Arthur.
And Julian.
Neither had gone near the vault.
Deep beneath Mercer Manor...
A reinforced steel door slowly swung inward.
Inside rested shelves of confidential files.
Historical records.
Financial ledgers.
Private correspondence.
And at the center...
A fireproof pedestal.
It should have held one item.
Instead...
It was empty.
A masked figure stood in the darkness, holding a weathered leather journal.
Embossed on its cover were two faded words.
Project Aurora
The intruder smiled beneath the mask.
Into a secure communicator, the figure whispered,
"I have it."
A distorted voice replied,
"Leave immediately."
"What about the child?"
A brief silence.
Then came the answer.
"No."
"Not yet."
"She's more useful alive..."
May you like
"...until she remembers."
End of Chapter 9
