The lights died instantly.
One second the conference room was bright.
The next—
Darkness swallowed everything.
For a moment no one moved.
Then the emergency alarm began screaming through the building.
A sharp metallic sound echoed down the hallway.
Rahman froze.
His face turned pale.
"That's the archive alarm."
Arif didn't waste a second.
"They're destroying the records."
He ran for the door.
Karim followed immediately.
Behind them—
Director Hasan Ali moved quickly for the first time.
The hallway outside was dimly lit by emergency red lights.
Shadows stretched across the walls.
Employees were shouting somewhere farther down the corridor.
But Arif ignored all of it.
His mind was already racing.
Someone inside the building had triggered the power failure.
Someone who knew exactly where the archive was.
And more importantly—
Someone who knew which files to destroy.
They reached the end of the corridor and turned sharply.
The smell hit them first.
Smoke.
Karim cursed.
"Damn it."
A thin line of gray smoke was slipping out from beneath the heavy metal archive door.
Rahman ran ahead.
"My key—"
But Arif grabbed the handle.
Locked.
Karim stepped forward.
"Move."
He kicked the door hard.
The metal rattled but didn't break.
Karim stepped back again and drove his shoulder into it.
The lock snapped.
The door burst open.
Smoke poured into the hallway.
Inside—
Chaos.
Several shelves had been pulled over.
Old record books were scattered across the floor.
And in the center of the room—
Flames.
Two stacks of files were burning.
The fire hadn't spread yet, but it was growing.
Karim grabbed a nearby fire extinguisher.
"Help me!"
White foam blasted across the flames.
Arif kicked burning papers apart and smothered the fire with a thick cloth from a shelf.
Within seconds the flames died down.
But the damage was already done.
Several record boxes were completely destroyed.
Rahman stared at the scene in horror.
"These are original documents…"
Hasan Ali stepped forward slowly.
His eyes scanned the room.
Every shelf.
Every box.
Every open drawer.
Then he spoke quietly.
"This wasn't random."
Arif nodded.
"No."
Karim wiped soot from his hands.
"They knew exactly what they wanted."
Arif began searching the floor.
Half burned documents lay everywhere.
Some of them were too damaged to read.
Others were only partially burned.
Then Arif saw something.
Near the far shelf—
A metal storage box.
It had been pulled out but not opened.
He walked toward it and knelt down.
Dust covered the surface.
But the lock had been broken recently.
Arif opened it.
Inside—
Several sealed folders.
Karim walked over.
"What did you find?"
Arif pulled out the top file.
The cover read:
Geological Survey – Restricted Distribution
Below it—
Another title.
Project Riverstone
Karim frowned.
"That sounds expensive."
Hasan Ali stepped closer.
His expression changed instantly when he saw the folder.
"So it's true."
Arif opened the file.
Inside were maps.
Large detailed maps of the district.
Colored markings spread across fields, rivers, and roads.
Karim leaned over his shoulder.
"What are those lines?"
Arif studied them.
"They look like survey boundaries."
Hasan Ali spoke quietly.
"No."
He pointed to the red zones.
"Mineral zones."
Karim blinked.
"What kind?"
Hasan Ali answered with one word.
"Lithium."
Arif's eyes narrowed.
The same word again.
But as he turned the page—
He realized something far bigger.
The next document listed additional minerals.
Cobalt.
Nickel.
Rare earth elements.
Karim whistled softly.
"That's not just valuable."
He looked up.
"That's billions."
Hasan Ali nodded slowly.
"The geological team discovered this seventeen years ago."
Arif looked at him.
"But it was never made public."
"No."
"Why?"
Hasan Ali's voice lowered.
"Because the report was classified."
Karim frowned.
"By who?"
Hasan Ali didn't answer immediately.
Then he said—
"The national energy commission."
Arif continued reading.
The map showed five marked land sections.
Five properties.
Each one directly above the mineral deposit.
Arif spoke quietly.
"Those are the five transfers you mentioned."
"Yes."
Karim leaned closer.
"So Rashid owns one."
Hasan Ali nodded.
"Yes."
Arif traced the others with his finger.
"Who owns the rest?"
Hasan Ali sighed.
"That information was sealed in a separate ownership file."
Karim looked around the destroyed room.
"Let me guess."
Arif answered first.
"That's the file they stole."
Hasan Ali nodded.
"Yes."
For a moment none of them spoke.
Then Karim suddenly froze.
"Wait."
He pointed at the map.
"There's something else here."
Arif leaned closer.
At the bottom of the survey sheet—
Small text.
Very small.
He read it slowly.
"Extraction Phase: Preliminary Schedule."
Karim asked—
"What does it say?"
Arif continued reading.
Then his expression hardened.
"Three months."
Karim blinked.
"What?"
"The extraction project begins in three months."
Silence fell across the room.
Hasan Ali looked deeply troubled.
"That means they've already secured the funding."
Karim crossed his arms.
"And the land."
Arif nodded.
"Almost all of it."
Rahman finally spoke again.
"But if someone is destroying the records…"
He hesitated.
"…they don't want the ownership traced."
Karim suddenly looked toward the back window.
"Guys."
They turned.
The window was open.
Cold air drifted into the room.
Arif walked toward it.
The latch had been forced.
Someone had escaped through there.
He looked outside.
Below the building—
A parking lot.
Empty except for a few cars.
But something caught his attention.
Near the far exit—
A black SUV.
Its engine started.
Karim stepped beside him.
"You see it too."
The SUV rolled toward the gate.
Then disappeared onto the road.
Hasan Ali spoke quietly behind them.
"They were watching us."
Arif turned.
"Or waiting for this."
Karim rubbed his forehead.
"This just keeps getting worse."
Arif picked up the survey map again.
His mind was racing now.
Five properties.
A lithium field.
A stolen ownership file.
And someone inside the registry office helping them.
Karim suddenly said—
"We're thinking too small."
Arif looked at him.
Karim pointed at the map.
"This isn't about Rashid."
"No," Arif agreed.
"It's about whoever controls all five properties."
Hasan Ali nodded slowly.
"And whoever owns them…"
"…controls the entire mineral field."
Rahman whispered—
"That's a fortune."
Arif closed the folder carefully.
"Yes."
Then he looked at Hasan Ali.
"We need the ownership records."
Hasan Ali shook his head.
"They're gone."
Arif's eyes sharpened.
"Not completely."
Karim frowned.
"What do you mean?"
Arif held up the geological file.
"This report lists the survey participants."
Karim leaned closer.
"And?"
Arif pointed at the bottom page.
"Every property owner had to sign access permission for the survey."
Hasan Ali's eyes widened slightly.
"You're right."
Karim smiled slowly.
"So the names are in here."
Arif flipped to the final page.
Five signatures.
The first one—
Rashid Khan.
Karim nodded.
"Expected."
The second—
A corporation.
Silver Coast Holdings.
Karim frowned.
"Never heard of them."
The third—
Orion Development Trust.
Arif remembered the name.
"That's a shell company."
The fourth signature made Hasan Ali tense.
He leaned closer.
"No…"
Arif looked at him.
"What?"
Hasan Ali whispered—
"That can't be right."
Karim read it aloud.
Minister Farooq Rahman.
Rahman gasped.
"The energy minister?!"
Arif slowly leaned back.
Now the scale of the conspiracy was becoming clear.
Karim whispered—
"This goes way above Rashid."
Arif nodded.
"Yes."
Then he looked at the final signature.
The fifth owner.
For a moment—
He said nothing.
Karim noticed.
"What is it?"
Arif turned the page toward them.
The name printed there was simple.
But shocking.
Hasan Ali.
The room went completely silent.
Karim stared at the page.
Then slowly turned toward the Director.
"You own the fifth property."
Hasan Ali didn't move.
His face had gone pale.
Finally he spoke quietly.
"I sold that land twelve years ago."
Arif's eyes narrowed.
"To who?"
Hasan Ali shook his head slowly.
"That's the problem."
Karim frowned.
"What do you mean?"
Hasan Ali whispered—
"The buyer never revealed their identity."
Arif felt a cold realization forming.
Someone had quietly bought the final piece of the mineral field.
Someone powerful enough to hide their name completely.
Karim finally said what all of them were thinking.
"So whoever owns that land…"
"…owns the future mine."
Arif closed the folder slowly.
"Yes."
Then he looked toward the dark window again.
"And they just destroyed the only records connecting them to it."
Far away—
Thunder rolled across the sky.
The storm outside was beginning.
And somewhere in the darkness—
The real mastermind was already moving their next piece.
Thunder rolled again, louder this time.
The storm outside was growing stronger.
Wind slammed against the windows of the registry building, rattling the old glass panes.
Inside the archive room, the air was still thick with the smell of smoke and burned paper.
No one spoke for several seconds.
The silence felt heavy.
Karim finally broke it.
"So let me get this straight," he said slowly.
"There's a massive mineral deposit under five pieces of land."
Arif nodded.
"Yes."
"Four of the owners are known."
"Yes."
Karim pointed at the last signature again.
"But the fifth owner bought the land from you… and no one knows who they are."
Hasan Ali looked exhausted.
"That's correct."
Karim rubbed his temples.
"That's insane."
Arif's mind was racing through the pieces.
Seventeen years ago a geological team discovered one of the most valuable mineral fields in the country.
Lithium.
Cobalt.
Rare earth elements.
The kinds of materials governments fought wars over.
And somehow—
Five private landowners ended up controlling it.
Too perfect.
Too organized.
Too deliberate.
"This wasn't an accident," Arif said quietly.
Karim looked at him.
"What do you mean?"
Arif pointed to the map again.
"The mineral zones were discovered seventeen years ago."
"Yes," Hasan Ali confirmed.
Arif continued.
"But the land transfers happened around the same time."
Karim understood immediately.
"You think someone knew about the minerals before the report was classified."
Arif nodded.
"Yes."
Rahman looked shocked.
"But that would mean someone inside the survey team leaked the information."
Hasan Ali shook his head slowly.
"No."
Everyone looked at him.
"The survey team didn't know the full results until the final report."
Karim frowned.
"Then how did the buyers know which land to purchase?"
Hasan Ali's eyes darkened.
"There was only one group that saw the preliminary data before the survey was finished."
Arif already knew the answer.
"The Energy Commission."
Hasan Ali nodded.
"Yes."
Karim laughed bitterly.
"Of course."
Corruption.
Power.
Money.
It all fit together.
Arif closed the file.
"Which means someone inside the commission used the information to quietly buy the land."
Rahman looked nervous.
"But one of the signatures belongs to the energy minister himself."
Karim crossed his arms.
"That's not suspicious at all."
Arif ignored the sarcasm.
His attention had returned to the broken window.
The black SUV that had just escaped.
Someone had been inside the building tonight.
Someone who knew exactly which records to destroy.
Karim followed his gaze.
"You're thinking about the car."
"Yes."
"Think we can find it?"
Arif shook his head.
"Not tonight."
The storm was now pounding the city.
Rain began hitting the pavement outside like a thousand tiny explosions.
Even if they chased the vehicle now, the roads would already be chaos.
Hasan Ali suddenly spoke again.
"There's something else."
Arif turned back to him.
"What?"
Hasan Ali pointed toward the burned shelves.
"Look at the damage carefully."
Karim scanned the room again.
Burned papers.
Collapsed shelves.
Destroyed record boxes.
"What about it?"
Hasan Ali stepped closer to the remains.
"The fire was controlled."
Arif noticed it too now.
The flames had only destroyed certain boxes.
Not the entire archive.
Karim understood.
"They didn't want to burn everything."
"No," Arif said quietly.
"They only wanted specific files gone."
Rahman swallowed nervously.
"The ownership records."
"Yes."
Karim walked to the shelf labels.
He wiped soot off one of the metal tags.
"Property Transfer Records – District Sector C."
He looked at Arif.
"That's the section containing the five mineral lands."
Arif nodded slowly.
Which meant the intruder had come here for one reason.
Erase the ownership history.
But something had gone wrong.
The geological report had survived.
Maybe the intruder hadn't expected anyone to interrupt them.
Or maybe—
They had been forced to leave early.
Karim suddenly snapped his fingers.
"Wait."
Arif looked at him.
"What?"
Karim pointed at the floor.
"Footprints."
Everyone looked down.
The wet smoke-covered floor had preserved several shoe prints.
They led from the window—
Directly to the burned shelves.
Then back again.
Arif crouched down.
The prints were large.
Heavy boots.
Not the kind worn by office workers.
Karim muttered.
"Professional."
Arif nodded.
"Yes."
Rahman looked confused.
"How can you tell?"
Karim answered.
"Because whoever did this knew exactly how long they had."
Arif studied the pattern carefully.
The intruder had moved quickly.
Direct path to the files.
Burn the boxes.
Leave.
No hesitation.
No wasted movement.
This was not a random criminal.
This was someone trained.
Maybe military.
Maybe private security.
Maybe worse.
Hasan Ali's voice dropped.
"Which means someone hired them."
Karim looked up.
"And whoever hired them has serious money."
Arif stood again.
"Yes."
And that meant the conspiracy had just grown even bigger.
Suddenly—
A loud bang echoed from somewhere in the building.
Rahman jumped.
"What was that?"
Karim moved instantly toward the hallway.
"Stay here."
But Arif followed him.
The corridor outside was almost empty now.
Most employees had evacuated after the alarm.
Emergency lights flickered red along the walls.
The storm outside was roaring like a living thing.
Another noise echoed.
Closer this time.
Footsteps.
Karim stopped.
"You hear that?"
Arif nodded.
Someone was running.
Fast.
From the far end of the hallway.
Karim stepped forward.
"Hey!"
The footsteps stopped suddenly.
Then—
They started running again.
Karim cursed.
"Not happening."
He sprinted down the corridor.
Arif followed immediately.
The hallway twisted left.
Then right.
The sound of footsteps echoed ahead of them.
Whoever it was—
They knew the building well.
Karim turned another corner and nearly slipped on the wet floor.
"There!"
A shadow moved near the emergency stairwell door.
A figure in dark clothing.
The door slammed open.
Karim burst through it seconds later.
The stairwell was dim.
Concrete steps spiraled downward.
Echoing footsteps were already two floors below.
Karim grabbed the railing and jumped down three steps at a time.
Arif followed just behind.
The chase became a blur.
Down one floor.
Then another.
The stranger moved incredibly fast.
By the time Arif reached the ground level—
The exit door was already swinging open.
Rain blasted into the stairwell.
Karim ran outside into the storm.
The parking lot was nearly empty now.
Water poured across the asphalt.
Lightning flashed across the sky.
Karim spun in a circle.
"Where the hell did he go?"
Arif stepped out beside him.
The rain soaked them instantly.
He scanned the dark street beyond the gate.
Cars rushed through the storm.
Headlights blurred by rain.
The runner had vanished.
Karim cursed loudly.
"Damn it!"
Arif wasn't looking at the street anymore.
He was looking at the ground.
Near the stairwell door.
Something small lay in the rain.
He bent down and picked it up.
A plastic card.
Karim leaned closer.
"What is that?"
Arif wiped the water away.
It was an access badge.
Building security clearance.
Karim read the printed name.
Then froze.
"You've got to be kidding me."
Arif stared at the badge.
The photo matched the man who had run past them.
But the name printed below it made everything worse.
Security Division.
Energy Commission.
Karim laughed bitterly again.
"Well."
He spread his arms toward the storm.
"There's your answer."
Arif looked back at the dark registry building.
The conspiracy had just connected directly to the government.
Hasan Ali and Rahman came running outside moments later.
Both were drenched instantly by the rain.
Rahman asked breathlessly.
"Did you catch him?"
Karim held up the badge.
"No."
"But we caught this."
Hasan Ali looked at it.
Then his face slowly hardened.
"So it's official."
Arif nodded.
"Yes."
"The Energy Commission is involved."
Lightning split the sky.
Thunder exploded over the city.
And for the first time since this investigation began—
Arif realized the truth.
They were not just fighting corrupt businessmen anymore.
They were fighting the people who controlled the entire system.
Karim exhaled slowly.
"So what now?"
Arif looked back at the archive room window high above them.
Somewhere up there—
Pieces of the truth were still hidden in those surviving files.
Pieces that someone was willing to burn an entire archive to erase.
His voice was calm.
But determined.
"Now we find the fifth owner."
Karim nodded.
"And how exactly do we do that?"
Arif slipped the security badge into his pocket.
"The same way they tried to stop us."
Karim raised an eyebrow.
"How's that?"
Arif looked toward the storm-dark highway stretching beyond the city.
"We follow the money."
Thunder rolled again across the sky.
And somewhere far away—
The real mastermind was already preparing the next move.