Chapter 12 - THE FOURTH MOVEJonathan immediately contacted the police.
But there was a problem.
The three children had not technically disappeared.
Their parents had signed withdrawal forms.
Their school records had been transferred.
Their medical files had been updated.
According to every official document, the children had simply left the Foundation.
Their parents insisted otherwise.
“My signature was forged,” one father said.
“I never took my daughter away,” another mother cried.
But the documents were perfect.
Too perfect.
Jonathan placed the files on the table.
Emma studied them silently.
Martha tried to stop her.
“Emma, this is not a game.”
Emma looked up.
“I know.”
She pointed to the documents.
“The same person prepared all three.”
Jonathan stared at the papers.
“How do you know?”
“The signatures are different.”
“Yes.”
“But the pressure is the same.”
Jonathan blinked.
Emma continued.
“Look at the last letter in each name. The pen stopped in exactly the same place.”
Jonathan examined the signatures.
His face slowly changed.
Emma was right.
Someone had copied the parents’ signatures using the same digital template.
But that was not the strangest part.
Emma turned the papers over.
On the back of each one was a tiny mark.
A black knight.
Jonathan sat down.
“Someone inside the Foundation is helping them.”
Martha immediately shook her head.
“No. Everyone here was carefully vetted.”
Emma looked at her mother.
“People can lie during an interview.”
She paused.
“But computers usually don’t.”
That night, Emma accessed the Foundation’s security system.
There were no signs of hacking.
No forced entry.
No suspicious login.
Everything appeared normal.
Then Emma noticed something.
A single security camera had been offline for exactly eleven minutes.
Every night.
At 2:17 a.m.
Emma stared at the screen.
“Why that camera?”
Jonathan leaned closer.
“What is it looking at?”
Emma zoomed in.
The camera faced the basement.
A basement that, according to the official building records, had been sealed for more than twenty years.
Emma looked at Martha.
“Mom…”
Martha swallowed.
“What?”
“Who built this building?”
Martha slowly answered.
“Your grandfather.”
Emma looked back at the screen.
May you like
Then she whispered:
“Then he may have left something behind.”
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