Chapter 34 - The Forgotten Carpenter
Daniel drove alone to the small town where he had grown up.
The old family workshop still stood behind his late grandfather's cottage.
Dust covered every tool.
Cobwebs stretched between unfinished shelves.
Nothing appeared unusual.
Yet Daniel noticed one thing that had always puzzled him as a child.
Every measuring tape in the workshop had strange markings carved into the metal.
Not inches.
Not centimeters.
Symbols.
He carefully photographed them.
Then he found his grandfather's old toolbox.
Inside rested dozens of handwritten notebooks documenting construction jobs dating back more than forty years.
Most described ordinary work.
Roof repairs.
Barn foundations.
Furniture.
But one notebook lacked dates.
Instead, every page contained sketches of underground tunnels.
Hidden chambers.
Drainage routes.
And detailed drawings of Daniel's family property.
Samuel joined him later that afternoon.
"This wasn't a carpenter's notebook."
Daniel nodded.
"It looks more like an engineer's survey."
Samuel carefully flipped to the final page.
Tucked inside was a folded map.
Across the top, written in faded blue ink, were the words:
If Daniel ever asks, he is finally ready.
Neither man remembered anyone placing that note there.
May you like
Someone had expected this exact moment decades in advance.
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