“It was in his project notebook.”
Thomas stepped outside.
“Give it to me.”
Adrian didn't.
“Thomas.”
“You don't understand.”
“I understand that Claire wrote my name.”
Silence.
Thomas closed his eyes.
“She knew.”
“What did she know?”
“That the accident wasn't an accident.”
Adrian's heart pounded.
“Tell me everything.”
Thomas shook his head.
“I tried.”
“Who stopped you?”
Thomas looked toward the street.
Then whispered:
“They were watching us.”
“Who?”
“I don't know.”
Adrian stepped closer.
“Thomas.”
“I don't know.”
He looked terrified.
“But Claire did.”
He turned toward the garage.
“She left something there.”
Adrian followed him.
Inside was a workbench covered in dust.
Old equipment.
Boxes.
Broken instruments.
Thomas opened a locked cabinet.
Inside was a hard drive.
“She told me never to touch it.”
Adrian stared.
“Why?”
“Because she said if something happened to her, someone would come looking.”
Adrian took the drive.
“We need to know what's on this.”
Thomas nodded.
That evening, Adrian connected the drive.
Most files were corrupted.
But one survived.
A video.
Claire appeared on the screen.
Older.
Tired.
Terrified.
Adrian leaned forward.
Claire looked directly into the camera.
“If you're watching this, I'm probably dead.”
Thomas covered his mouth.
Adrian didn't move.
Claire continued.
“The energy system wasn't the real discovery.”
Adrian frowned.
“What?”
Claire looked behind her.
Then back at the camera.
“The real discovery was the material.”
She held up a small transparent shard.
Glass.
Adrian stared.
The same kind of glass Eli had used in his machine.
Claire continued.
“This material changes its conductivity under magnetic stress.”
Adrian's heart raced.
“That means—”
Claire spoke again.
“If you combine it with the right magnetic architecture, you can store and release energy far more efficiently than conventional systems.”
She paused.
“Someone wants this technology.”
The screen flickered.
Claire's voice became quieter.
“I refused to sell it.”
Then she said the words that changed everything.
“And that's why they killed me.”
Thomas broke down.