Chapter 293
Chapter 293
CHAPTER 293
The appearance of the second message changed the atmosphere inside the observatory immediately.
Nobody spoke as the words remained illuminated on Noor’s monitor. Every pair of eyes remained fixed on the screen, but the silence that settled over the room was no longer driven by shock alone. It was driven by uncertainty. Whoever had sent the transmission knew exactly what was happening inside the observatory, and that realization was perhaps more disturbing than the message itself.
Kayla read the words again.
He’s already here.
The sentence was painfully short, yet it carried enough weight to silence everyone in the room. She felt Jason move a little closer beside her, and without thinking, she reached for his hand. Their fingers intertwined naturally, neither of them acknowledging the gesture aloud. After everything they had endured together, comfort had become instinctive rather than intentional.
Arthur was the first to recover.
“Noor,” he said calmly, “trace the transmission.”
Her fingers immediately began moving across the keyboard. Multiple windows appeared on the monitors as she searched for the origin of the message. Seconds passed before she slowly shook her head.
“I can’t.”
Marcus frowned. “You can’t, or you haven’t?”
“I can’t,” Noor repeated. “The signal isn’t bouncing through external servers. It originated inside our network.”
Charles looked sharply toward her.
“Inside this building?”
She nodded.
“Less than thirty meters from this room.”
The revelation sent a ripple of unease through everyone present.
Marcus instinctively rested his hand on the weapon concealed beneath his jacket, while Arthur quietly signaled two members of the security team waiting outside the observation room. They disappeared down the corridor without asking questions.
Jason’s attention never left Kayla.
“If someone is already inside,” he said quietly, “then they wanted us to read that message before we found them.”
Kayla considered his words carefully. They made sense. Whoever had orchestrated this had not attempted to remain invisible. On the contrary, they wanted their presence to be known.
She looked back at Ethan’s photograph still displayed on the larger screen.
Her mind refused to accept that the smiling little boy in Lily’s photograph and the man described in the founder records could truly be the same person.
“If Ethan is here,” she said softly, “then I don’t believe he came only to kill me.”
Marcus immediately looked at her.
“Based on what?”
She turned toward him.
“Because if he wanted me dead, he wouldn’t announce himself first.”
Jason studied her expression.
“You think he’s trying to make contact.”
“I think someone wants us to believe he’s the enemy.”
The room became quiet again.
Arthur folded his arms thoughtfully.
“Your mother said he wasn’t the real enemy.”
Kayla nodded.
“She also said someone taught him who to hate.”
Charles looked toward the security feed covering the front entrance.
“So the question is simple.”
Everyone waited.
“Did Ethan come here because he wants revenge…”
He paused before finishing.
“…or because he’s finally looking for the truth?”
Before anyone could answer, the lights flickered briefly.
Only once.
But it was enough.
Noor looked down at her monitor, confused.
“I didn’t do that.”
The emergency power indicators remained green, confirming there was no electrical fault.
Then another monitor activated by itself.
No one touched the keyboard.
A live security feed appeared on the screen.
The camera showed the eastern corridor leading toward the observatory’s archive vault.
At first the hallway appeared empty.
Then a figure slowly walked into view.
He wore a dark coat, and his face was partially hidden beneath the shadow cast by the corridor lights. His pace was calm, almost unhurried, as though he had every right to be there.
The camera automatically adjusted its focus.
Kayla felt her heartbeat quicken.
The man stopped directly beneath the camera and slowly lifted his head.
For the first time, she saw his face clearly.
He looked astonishingly like her.
Not just in appearance, but in the quiet intensity of his gaze.
There was no hatred on his face.
No anger.
Only a sadness so profound that it seemed to have followed him for years.
Then, without taking his eyes off the camera, he spoke.
“I know you’re watching.”
His voice was steady.
“If you’re really Kayla…”
He paused for only a moment before continuing.
“…then you’re the only person left who can tell me why our mother let them take me.”
From this point onward, the story shifts naturally from mystery into an emotional confrontation between Kayla and Ethan, while Jason remains determined to protect her. That direction keeps the romance, family drama, and suspense balanced rather than relying mainly on the “system” plot.
The observation room remained silent for several long moments after Ethan’s voice disappeared from the monitor. No one seemed willing to speak first because there was an unmistakable sincerity in his question that did not fit the image of a man driven only by hatred. Kayla continued looking at the screen long after it had returned to the security feed, her thoughts racing faster than she could organize them.
Jason watched her carefully. He knew that look. It was the same expression she wore whenever her heart and her instincts pulled her in different directions. He reached for her hand once more, giving it a reassuring squeeze.
“You don’t have to decide anything right now,” he said quietly. “Whatever happens next, you won’t face it alone.”
Kayla turned toward him, and for a brief moment the tension around them seemed to disappear. She could see genuine concern in his eyes, and it reminded her how far they had come. The man who had once entered her life seeking revenge had become the person who stood between her and every danger that threatened her. She offered him a faint smile, grateful for his presence even though she could not find the right words to express it.
“I’m not afraid for myself,” she admitted softly. “I’m afraid that everything he’s been told about us has become his truth.”
Jason understood immediately. Ethan was no longer just an unknown figure hiding behind classified files. He was a man who had lived an entire life believing a version of the past that might have been carefully manufactured by someone else.
Arthur finally broke the silence.
“We cannot ignore what he said. If he truly believes Kayla has answers, then someone has kept him in the dark for years.”
Charles nodded in agreement.
“Which means the person manipulating him is still active.”
Evelyn folded her arms as she looked toward the security monitors. “And that person may already know Ethan has reached us.”
Noor’s fingers moved swiftly across the keyboard as she searched every available camera feed. She checked the entrances, the underground corridors, the surrounding grounds, and every restricted level inside the observatory. Everything appeared normal.
Then she stopped.
“I found him.”
Everyone gathered around her workstation.
The screen displayed the eastern courtyard outside the observatory. Ethan was still there, standing exactly where the camera had captured him earlier. He had not attempted to force his way inside, nor had he made any effort to escape after revealing himself. Instead, he remained where he was, quietly waiting, as though he believed the next move belonged to Kayla.
The sight unsettled everyone.
Marcus frowned. “If this is a trap, he’s remarkably patient.”
Kayla studied Ethan’s face on the monitor. Even through the grainy camera feed, she could see exhaustion etched into his expression. There was no satisfaction in his eyes and no sign of triumph. He looked like a man who had spent years searching for answers and had finally reached the only place where he believed he might find them.
Before anyone could speak again, another notification appeared on Noor’s screen. This time it was not a message or a security alert. It was a live transmission request addressed to only one person.
Recipient: Kayla Meyer.
Sender: Ethan Meyer.