Chapter 95 - The Lighthouse Signal
Before dawn, the underground terminal emitted another soft tone.
This time, the message was different.
Not text.
Coordinates.
Latitude.
Longitude.
Samuel entered them into his mapping software.
The location matched the abandoned lighthouse exactly.
Then another line appeared.
External Beacon Activated
Daniel frowned.
"What beacon?"
Elias' face grew pale.
"The lighthouse."
"It was never just a lighthouse."
He walked toward an old wall cabinet and removed a rolled maritime chart.
Years earlier, the coastline had looked completely different.
The lighthouse had once stood beside an active shipping channel.
Hidden beneath the chart, Daniel discovered another transparent overlay.
When aligned with the quarry maps...
The lighthouse sat directly above a continuation of the underground tunnel network.
Samuel whispered,
"So the tunnels don't end here."
"They never did," Elias replied.
"They connect every place you've already visited."
The terminal chimed one final time.
A live camera feed suddenly appeared.
The abandoned lighthouse.
Wind battered the old tower.
The front door slowly creaked open.
A lone figure entered carrying a lantern.
The camera zoomed automatically.
Daniel leaned closer.
The face remained hidden beneath a hood.
But one detail stood out immediately.
May you like
The person was carrying the same worn blue teddy bear Daniel had given Lily the night before he left home fifteen years ago.
The teddy bear that had disappeared from Lily's room only two nights earlier.
