"So you're here." Nolan stood in the doorway.
Elara sat back down when she realized it was her cousin.
"I'm looking for something."
Nolan slipped both hands into his pants pockets. "In the archives?"
"Yeah."
"Alone?"
Elara looked at him. "Was I supposed to bring an entourage?"
Nolan chuckled softly. "All right. I was just asking."
He walked closer. But when he saw the computer screen in front of Elara, he stopped. His smile slowly faded.
"Silas Vane?"
Elara immediately turned to him. "You know him?"
Nolan didn't answer right away. Instead, he stared at the screen for a few seconds longer. "Why are you looking for that name?"
"Answer my question."
Nolan exhaled. "I don't know him personally."
"But you know who he is."
"A little."
Elara stood. "Explain."
Nolan hesitated. "As far as I know, he used to be part of the intelligence division."
"I already know that."
"He was one of the people who was fairly close to your father."
Elara fell silent.
"How close?"
Nolan looked at her. "I don't know."
"You just said he was fairly close."
"I mean, Uncle Theodore trusted him."
That answer only made Elara more curious.
"Why was his name erased?"
Nolan didn't answer.
"Nolan."
"I really don't know."
"You're lying."
"I'm not lying."
Elara stepped closer. "You know something."
Nolan stared at her for a long moment before finally exhaling.
"There's only one thing I know."
"What?"
"Silas disappeared before your parents died."
Elara froze. Her heart began beating faster.
"How long before?"
"A few months."
"Why?"
"I don't know."
"And no one looked for him?"
Nolan shook his head. "At least not openly."
Elara looked back at the computer screen.
"That's strange."
"It is." Nolan stepped closer and stood beside her. "Elara, if I may offer some advice..."
"I didn't ask for advice."
"I'm going to give it anyway."
Elara turned to him with a bored look.
"Don't dig too deeply into the people from Dominion's past."
"Why?"
Nolan was silent for a moment. "Because people who are deliberately erased from an organization's history usually aren't people who want to be found."
Elara's gaze changed. "Or maybe they were deliberately erased because someone doesn't want the truth to be found."
Nolan didn't respond.
And his silence only made Elara more certain.
She closed the laptop. "I'm going to find Silas."
"Elara—"
"I won't stop."
Nolan rubbed his face in frustration. "I know, but this is obviously very dangerous for you."
Elara slipped her phone into her pocket, ignoring Nolan's concern. But before she left, her eyes returned to the computer screen.
There was one piece of information she hadn't noticed yet.
An access log.
Last Accessed By: A.N.A.
Elara stopped. Those initials held her in place.
A.N.A.
Adrian Nicholas Ashbourne.
Elara slowly turned toward Nolan. "Nolan."
"Hmm?"
"Who was the last person to open Silas's file?"
Nolan moved toward the screen. His expression changed immediately. He read the name once more. Neither of them spoke.
For a few seconds, the room felt too quiet. Elara stared coldly at the words.
So Adrian had opened Silas's file.
The question now was no longer whether Adrian knew Silas existed.
But—
what was Adrian really looking for?
Elsewhere, a dark room was lit only by the glow of a laptop screen. Someone sat alone behind a desk. A document was open on the screen.
SILAS VANE.
The person's hand moved to close the laptop. Then they picked up the phone that had been lying on the desk. A new message appeared.
He's starting to look for Silas.
The person read the message without expression. Then typed a brief reply.
Let him look.
A few seconds later, another message was sent.
What if he finds Silas?
The person stopped. Their gaze shifted to an old photograph lying on the desk. It showed four people standing together.
Theodore Vincent Ashbourne.
Adrian Nicholas Ashbourne.
Silas Vane.
And a man whose face was almost completely hidden in shadow.
The person's finger touched the photograph.
Then the final message was sent.
If that child manages to find Silas, it means the time has come.
The phone screen went dark again.
And in that silent room, a name that had been believed to have vanished from the world for years—
Silas Vane
had just become part of the game once more.