Chapter 51: Someone Inside the Investigation Was Lying
Chapter 51: Someone Inside the Investigation Was Lying
No one in the underground library spoke.
The folded message remained in Anna's hand.
"The meeting at the old pier must not happen yet."
"Someone inside your own investigation has already reported your next move."
The words seemed to freeze the room.
No accusations were made.
No one reached for a weapon.
Yet something invisible had changed.
Trust.
Jonathan Vale slowly looked around the library.
For the first time, he wasn't studying the journals or the ancient mechanisms.
He was studying the faces around him.
Dr. Evelyn Brooks.
Mrs. Foster.
The forensic analysts.
The tactical officers.
The engineers.
People who had worked side by side for days.
People who had risked their careers to uncover the truth.
Could one of them really be feeding information to someone outside?
Dr. Brooks quietly extended her hand.
"May I see the note?"
Anna hesitated for only a second before handing it over.
Dr. Brooks examined both sides of the paper.
"No fingerprints."
"No signature."
She handed it to the lead forensic analyst.
"Can you identify the paper?"
He nodded and immediately placed it beneath a portable microscope.
Several tense moments passed.
Then he looked up.
"This wasn't produced recently."
Jonathan frowned.
"What do you mean?"
"The paper is almost twenty years old."
Everyone fell silent.
"The ink is fresh," the analyst continued.
"But the paper came from the same manufacturer as Professor Whitmore's journals."
The First Guardian smiled faintly.
"So whoever wrote this..."
"...had access to Samuel's original supplies."
Anna looked thoughtful.
"That doesn't narrow the list."
"No," Jonathan agreed.
"But it changes the timeline."
The analyst nodded.
"This person has been connected to the Guardian network for a very long time."
Another forensic specialist interrupted.
"I've finished analyzing the writing."
He projected enlarged samples onto the wall.
The handwriting from the latest note.
Professor Whitmore's journals.
Eleanor's letters.
Anna's aunt's messages.
Adrian Mercer's notes.
None matched.
"It belongs to someone else."
Mrs. Foster folded her arms.
"So there is another person helping us."
"Or watching us," Jonathan replied quietly.
Before anyone could respond, the communications analyst called from the far end of the library.
"I've recovered access logs from the beacon network."
Dr. Brooks walked over.
"Anything unusual?"
The analyst enlarged a timeline.
Every beacon remained inactive for years.
Until three months ago.
Then...
One by one...
They had begun waking up.
Not all at once.
In sequence.
The first beacon.
Three months ago.
The second.
Eleven weeks ago.
The third.
Nine weeks ago.
Dozens more followed.
Anna stared at the pattern.
"They weren't activated because we found them."
Jonathan looked at her.
"What do you mean?"
"They started waking up..."
She pointed to the dates.
"...before we even knew Project Guardian existed."
The room became quiet.
The First Guardian slowly nodded.
"Someone was preparing the network."
The analyst highlighted another detail.
"Every activation occurred exactly at 9:00 p.m."
"No exceptions."
Richard Carter frowned.
"That's too precise."
The engineer agreed.
"It was automated."
Anna slowly shook her head.
"I don't think so."
Everyone looked at her.
"If Samuel built this network..."
"...he wouldn't trust automation with something this important."
Jonathan smiled.
"So what are you thinking?"
She looked back at the timeline.
"I think..."
"...someone has been visiting every beacon."
Silence.
The analyst quickly calculated travel distances.
His eyes widened.
"It would be possible."
"But only if someone planned the route months in advance."
Mrs. Foster whispered,
"They've been traveling across the country."
"Quietly waking the network."
Just then, another discovery appeared.
The analyst enlarged a maintenance log recovered from one of the beacons.
A visitor had signed in.
No name.
Only a handwritten symbol.
An owl with open wings.
Not Black Owl.
The Guardian symbol.
The First Guardian leaned closer.
"That's impossible."
Jonathan frowned.
"Why?"
The old man spoke softly.
"Only three people were ever taught to use that symbol."
He counted slowly.
"Professor Whitmore."
"Eleanor."
Then he stopped.
Anna finished the sentence.
"And...?"
The old man looked directly at her.
"The person who inherited Samuel's journals after Eleanor disappeared."
The room fell silent.
Jonathan immediately asked,
"Who was it?"
The First Guardian slowly shook his head.
"I never learned the name."
"He refused to tell me."
Dr. Brooks looked back at the activation logs.
"So whoever inherited those journals..."
"...may be the one awakening the Guardian network."
At that exact moment, every beacon on the projected map blinked once.
Then all one hundred and seventeen lights turned blue simultaneously.
The analyst stared at the screen.
"They've synchronized."
"Can you tell why?" Dr. Brooks asked.
He checked the incoming data.
A single line of text appeared across every connected beacon.
No sender.
No signature.
Only one sentence.
The Library Is No Longer Safe. Move Before Sunrise.
The underground library fell completely silent.
No one knew who had sent the warning.
But everyone understood its meaning.
Someone else knew exactly where they were.
May you like
And whatever had protected this place for twenty years...
Might not protect it through another night.
