My Cute Neighbor Invited Me to Watch the Meteor Shower… Then Whispered, “Stay After Everyone Leaves.”
Chapter 10
Thomas had disappeared.
The cabin was empty when they returned.
His belongings were gone.
The key remained.
Rachel looked frustrated.
“He betrayed us.”
Noah shook his head.
“Or he’s protecting us.”
Emma wasn’t sure.
She opened the final remaining files.
One message appeared.
COME TO THE OBSERVATORY.
Alone.
Emma knew the place.
The city’s old observatory sat on a hill overlooking the skyline.
It was where her father had taken her to watch stars.
She went with Noah.
The observatory was empty.
Then Thomas stepped from the shadows.
“You came.”
Emma stared.
“You took the drive.”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“Because the archive is incomplete.”
“What do you mean?”
“The original drive contains the names of everyone who built Horizon.”
“Why hide it?”
“Because some are innocent.”
Noah frowned.
“How?”
“Many people worked for Horizon without knowing what it truly was.”
Thomas handed him the drive.
“This contains the evidence needed to separate them.”
Emma looked at it.
“What do you want us to do?”
“Release it properly.”
Noah asked:
“Why us?”
Thomas smiled.
“Because this is your inheritance.”
Emma shook her head.
“We don’t want power.”
“Good.”
“Then what?”
“Justice.”
Thomas revealed the last secret.
The transportation corridor wasn’t the real objective.
It was a cover.
The real goal was to manipulate the city’s water supply.
Horizon had acquired rights to underground reservoirs.
If they controlled the corridor, they would control the water.
Billions of people could be affected.
Emma stared.
“This is bigger than we thought.”
“Yes.”
Noah looked at the drive.
“How do we stop it?”
“You already did.”
They had exposed the network.
The city council had begun an emergency investigation.
Banks were freezing accounts.
Executives were resigning.
Police were arresting suspects.
But one person remained missing.
Mark Harrison.
He had survived.
And he had taken the water rights documents.
Emma’s phone buzzed.
A message.
Your father is waiting.
She froze.
“Which father?”
The message showed a location.
Emma looked at Noah.
“Your father?”
Noah’s eyes widened.
“He’s alive?”
Thomas nodded.
“He never died.”
They rushed to the location.
An underground medical facility.
Inside was an elderly man.
Daniel Bennett.
Noah’s father.
Noah stood frozen.
Then whispered:
“Dad?”
Daniel opened his eyes.
“My son.”
Noah hugged him.
Emma cried.
Her father had been there too.
David Collins stepped out of another room.
He was older.
Thin.
But alive.
Emma ran to him.
“Dad.”
He held her.
“I’m sorry.”
She cried.
“You left me.”
“I thought I was protecting you.”
“Everyone thought that.”
David smiled sadly.
“I was wrong.”
Thomas joined them.
For the first time, the families were together.
But they didn’t have much time.
The final documents showed the water transfer would happen in seventy-two hours.
If Horizon succeeded, they would gain control of the reservoirs.
Emma looked at Noah.
“We stop it.”
He nodded.
Together, they began the final plan.
