I do not know whether the child is you, whether the child is connected to Arthur, or whether the child is someone else entirely. But I know that Rebecca has been protecting a secret that frightens even her.
If anything happens to me, please do not assume that the person who tells you they love you is telling you the truth.
And do not assume that the person who has hurt you has never loved you at all.
Both things can be true.
I wish I could have told you this in person.
I love you.
Nora
Colton lowered the paper.
The room seemed to tilt.
Nora had known that he might someday discover the truth about his parentage. She had known that the story was larger than any one person. And she had left him a warning that seemed designed to cut through every excuse he had heard that morning.
Love did not erase the truth.
Nor did the truth erase love.
He folded the letter carefully and slipped it into his jacket.
"Where are the missing pages?"
Rebecca looked at Samuel.
Samuel answered.
"Arthur has them."
"Then why hasn't he destroyed them?"
"Because he needs them."
"For what?"
"Leverage. There are names in those pages that can bring down people who have spent decades believing they are untouchable. Arthur has used that information to control them. As long as the pages remain in his possession, he can force them to do what he wants."
"And now?"
"Now he intends to move them."
"Where?"
Rebecca looked toward the telescope chamber above them.
"Somewhere he believes no one will think to look."
Colton followed her gaze.
"The observatory?"
"No. The observatory is where we are supposed to meet. The archive is elsewhere."
She walked toward a narrow cabinet beside the staircase and pulled open a lower drawer. Inside lay an old star chart, its paper yellowed and brittle.
She unfolded it across the desk.
Several locations had been marked in red pencil. One was the observatory. Another was the old Hayes property. A third lay west of Sedona, near a canyon road.
Colton recognized the final location.
"That used to be the Red Mesa research station."
"It still exists," Rebecca said. "Under another name."
"What's there?"
"The original archive. Arthur's private records. And the last part of the ledger."
Colton stared at the map.
"Why would he leave evidence there?"
"Because he believes the site is secure. It was designed to withstand inspections, natural disasters, and legal scrutiny. The public records show that it was closed years ago. The company that owns it has no employees listed. The property is controlled through a trust."
"Who owns the trust?"
"Arthur."
"Of course."
Samuel leaned forward.
"But there is another problem."
Colton looked at him.
"What now?"
"Arthur knows you have the flash drive."
"How?"
"Because the men who were following Mara reported the encounter. They were not just trying to retrieve Lila. They were trying to determine what you had found."
Colton's pulse quickened.
"Then why would Arthur invite me to the observatory?"
"Because he wants the drive. He wants the ledger. And he wants to know whether you are willing to work with him."
Colton looked at Rebecca.
"Is that why you called me here? To make me choose between you and him?"
"No."
"Then what?"
Rebecca took a long breath.
"To ask you to help me stop him."
Colton stared at her.
For a moment, he could not tell whether the words were sincere or merely another carefully arranged attempt to control the outcome.
"Why should I help you?"
"Because I know where the archive is. Because I know the names of the people protecting it. And because I am the only person alive who can explain how the original ledger was created."
"You could have explained all of that to the police."
"I could have."
"Why didn't you?"
"Because if I had gone to the police without the evidence, Arthur would have denied everything. The people he controls would have protected him. And I would have been arrested before I could expose the network."
"You think you're above the law?"
"No. I think I am guilty, and I know that."
Rebecca's eyes filled.
"I am not asking you to forgive me. I am asking you to let me help put an end to what I started."
Colton looked toward the window.
Outside, the first sunlight had reached the red rocks. Their surfaces glowed as if lit from within.
He thought of Lila asleep beside Mara.
He thought of Nora's letter.
He thought of the years he had spent believing that the people who loved him were safe, only to discover that they had been carrying secrets capable of destroying everything he understood.
He also thought of the people who had suffered because his family had chosen power over honesty.
He could refuse to help Rebecca.
He could walk out of the observatory, call the authorities, and let the investigation proceed without her.