CHAPTER 394

CHAPTER 394
Theo could not stop thinking about the documents hidden inside his brother's jacket.

Whatever secrets lay sealed within that aged package, every instinct told him this discovery mattered more than anything they had uncovered so far. But opening them here, surrounded by hundreds of guests and prying eyes, would be reckless beyond measure. They needed patience. They needed the right moment.

So he waited, blending back into the celebration while keeping careful watch over the crowd, increasingly convinced that whoever had hidden those documents would eventually return searching for them.

He did not have to wait long before his suspicions proved correct.

A man near the edge of the courtyard kept drawing his attention, someone he vaguely recognized from earlier introductions as a representative from a smaller allied territory. Unlike most guests enjoying the festivities, this man's eyes constantly scanned the crowd instead of engaging in conversation, his gaze repeatedly drifting toward the eastern pathway leading to the storage buildings.

Theo positioned himself carefully near a refreshment table, angled perfectly to observe both the suspicious guest and the general direction of the storage building without appearing obviously interested in either.

"You are staring," Leo said quietly, appearing beside him with two drinks in hand, offering one to his brother.

"Third table from the archway. Dark green jacket."

Leo followed his gaze subtly. "What about him?"

"He keeps looking toward the storage buildings. Same area where Kai and I found those documents earlier."

Leo's expression sharpened immediately. "You think he is looking for them?"

"I think we are about to find out."

They watched together, sipping their drinks casually while maintaining careful surveillance over the nervous stranger. As the evening progressed toward its final hours, guests gradually began dispersing, some heading toward guest quarters while others said their farewells before departing entirely.

The suspicious man finally made his move as the crowd thinned considerably, slipping away from the remaining guests with practiced casualness that would have gone completely unnoticed by anyone not specifically watching for it.

"I am following him," Theo said quietly. "Stay here with Kai. Make sure the documents remain secure."

"Theo, wait—"

But he was already moving, weaving through the remaining guests before Leo could properly protest, careful to maintain enough distance that his pursuit would not be obvious to anyone glancing backward.

The man moved quickly once clear of the main crowd, heading directly toward the same storage building where the sealed documents had been hidden. Theo pressed himself against the shadows of a neighboring structure, watching as the stranger disappeared inside, moonlight briefly illuminating his silhouette through the grimy windows before darkness swallowed him completely.

Theo crept closer, positioning himself near an open window where he could observe without risking discovery. Inside, the man moved directly toward the cabinet Theo and Kai had investigated earlier, pulling it away from the wall with practiced efficiency that suggested he already knew exactly what he was searching for.

His calm expression shattered the moment he discovered the hidden compartment empty.

"No." The word escaped him in a harsh whisper, hands running frantically along the empty space as though the documents might materialize through sheer desperation. "No, no, this cannot be happening."

Theo remained perfectly still, watching the man's growing panic with grim satisfaction. Whatever those documents contained, this stranger's reaction confirmed their significance beyond anything Theo had initially anticipated.

The man pulled out a small communication device from his jacket pocket, hands trembling as he pressed it against his ear, voice dropping to barely audible whispers that Theo strained to catch through the open window.

"It is gone. The compartment is empty." A pause, presumably listening to a response Theo could not hear. "I do not know how, but someone found it before us."

Another pause, longer this time, the man's expression growing increasingly panicked as whatever conversation continued on the other end of the communication.

"Yes, I understand the implications. If those documents surface publicly—" He stopped abruptly, glancing nervously toward the window where Theo remained hidden, though thankfully not spotting him in the darkness. He lowered his voice even further, forcing Theo to strain harder to catch his final words.

"The evidence has already been moved. We need to assume the worst and prepare accordingly."

Theo's blood ran cold. The evidence has already been moved. Whoever was on the other end of that communication clearly understood the documents' significance, understood enough to immediately shift strategy once discovering they had been discovered.

This confirmed everything. The documents Kai and Theo had recovered were not simply insignificant historical records. They were something powerful enough to genuinely threaten whatever conspiracy had been operating against Lina's family, something valuable enough that losing access to them triggered immediate panic and emergency communication.

The man finally lowered his device, running frustrated hands through his hair before straightening his jacket and composing himself with visible effort. Within moments, his earlier panic had been carefully masked behind practiced calm, and he exited the storage building with the same casual confidence he had entered with, as though nothing unusual had occurred at all.

Theo waited until he was certain the man had rejoined the departing crowd before finally emerging from his hiding spot, mind racing with implications from what he had just witnessed.

He needed to find Leo and Kai immediately. Needed to make absolutely certain those documents remained secure, hidden somewhere far more protected than a jacket pocket during a crowded ceremony where anyone could potentially discover them.

He moved quickly back toward the main courtyard, adrenaline and urgency propelling his steps faster than casual walking would normally allow. But as he rounded the corner leading toward the main pathway, sudden commotion stopped him completely in his tracks.

Guards were rushing everywhere, panicked voices rising above what remained of the ceremony's music, guests parting quickly to reveal his mother standing near the courtyard's center, her face pale with visible terror as she clutched something torn and stained in her shaking hands.

Theo's stomach dropped instantly as he recognized the fabric.

Lina's shawl, ripped and marked with something disturbingly dark.

He pushed through the gathering crowd desperately, searching frantically for any sign of his sister among the panicked chaos, his mind still reeling from the significance of what he had just discovered about the missing documents.

But nowhere in the entire courtyard could he spot Lina anywhere, and the growing horror settling over his chest told him with sickening certainty that whatever conspiracy they had been investigating had just claimed its most dangerous victim yet.