The attic felt colder now. The lightbulb above them dimmed, like it too was holding its breath.
Lara stared at the message on Kaven's phone, her heart thudding against her ribs.
"You think this is a joke?" she whispered.
Kaven shook his head slowly. "No. This... this is serious."
He turned off his phone, slipped it into his pocket, and without another word, opened the latch of the trunk. A small cloud of dust flew up, making Lara cough.
Inside were old files, yellowed photographs, a few cassette tapes, and a leather-bound notebook.
Kaven picked up the notebook. "This was your dad's handwriting, right?"
Lara took it carefully and flipped through the pages. Most were scribbled notes, names, dates — nothing she could piece together instantly. But then her fingers stopped at a page with a red corner folded inward.
> April 6, 2004 — We were warned. If we don't stop digging, they'll make us disappear. She's scared. I can't tell her what I found. It's too dangerous. But if anything happens, I hope Kaven never finds out. I hope Lara grows up safe. And I hope they burn in hell.
Lara blinked rapidly. "He... he mentioned your name."
Kaven froze. "What?"
She handed him the notebook. He read the passage slowly, a chill spreading down his spine.
"What did he mean by that?" Lara asked. "Why didn't he want you to know something?"
Kaven didn't answer. He just stared at the page — as if a storm had started in his mind and it was all turning over again. Guilt. Confusion. Fear.
Lara noticed a photo sticking out between two pages and pulled it out.
It was a picture — her dad, her mom, and Kaven's father, all standing in front of a building with the manager in the background, slightly out of focus.
She turned it over. On the back, someone had written:
> "Truth lies beneath."
Warehouse 09, Old Docks.
Lara's voice dropped to a whisper. "We need to go there."
Kaven nodded after a pause, but something about his silence unsettled her.
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End of Chapter 12