PART 10 — THE PERSON WHO KNEW NOAH BEFORE WE DID
For several seconds…
Nobody moved.
The laboratory door slowly opened.
A sound that should have been impossible.
Because everyone knew the security system had locked the entire area.
Nobody could enter.
Nobody could leave.
Yet someone was standing there.
Someone who shouldn’t have been.
* * *
Graham immediately stepped in front of Noah.
A protective instinct I had never seen from him before.
Not the billionaire.
Not the businessman.
Not the man who always calculated his next move.
Just a father.
* * *
“Who are you?”
Graham’s voice was cold.
The person standing in the doorway didn’t answer immediately.
He stepped into the light.
An older man.
Maybe in his sixties.
Calm.
Confident.
Like he had expected us to be there.
* * *
Then he looked at Noah.
Not Graham.
Not me.
Noah.
* * *
“You’ve grown.”
The words made my entire body freeze.
Grown?
As if he already knew him.
As if he had watched him.
* * *
“Who are you?”
I demanded.
The man looked at me.
“My name is Daniel Voss.”
* * *
The name meant nothing to me.
But Graham’s reaction was different.
His face changed.
“You.”
* * *
I looked at Graham.
“You know him?”
Graham didn’t answer.
And that scared me more than anything.
* * *
Daniel smiled slightly.
“I see you never told your family about me.”
Graham’s jaw tightened.
“Leave.”
Daniel ignored him.
“You still think you can control every situation.”
* * *
The same words.
The same arrogance.
The same attitude Graham used to have.
And suddenly…
I understood why Graham hated him.
* * *
“Explain.”
I looked at Graham.
“Now.”
* * *
He remained silent.
For years, I had watched Graham hide behind confidence.
Behind money.
Behind success.
But this time…
He looked like someone facing a ghost.
* * *
“Daniel was part of the original research project.”
Graham finally said.
* * *
I frowned.
“The project you funded?”
He nodded.
“Yes.”
* * *
Daniel smiled.
“Not exactly.”
He walked further into the room.
“Graham funded the project.”
A pause.
“But I created the foundation.”
* * *
Dr. Carter stepped forward.
“You were one of the original scientists?”
Daniel nodded.
“Yes.”
* * *
I looked at Noah.
Then back at Daniel.
“Why do you know my son?”
* * *
Daniel’s expression changed.
For the first time…
Something like admiration appeared.
“Because I saw him before anyone else did.”
* * *
The room became silent.
* * *
“What does that mean?”
Daniel looked at Graham.
“It means Noah was never discovered by accident.”
* * *
Graham’s face became pale.
“What are you saying?”
Daniel walked toward the table where Noah’s invention was placed.
“I’m saying the world has been searching for exceptional minds.”
He touched the machine carefully.
“But Noah was always the answer.”
* * *
I felt uncomfortable.
The way he spoke about Noah…
Not like a child.
Like a discovery.
* * *
“He’s my son.”
I said firmly.
Daniel looked at me.
“And that is exactly why you don’t understand.”
* * *
My anger rose.
“What?”
* * *
“You see him as your son.”
He looked at Noah.
“I see what he can become.”
* * *
Graham stepped forward.
“He is not a project.”
Daniel looked at him.
“Now you understand?”
* * *
Those words hit Graham.
Because they carried years of accusation.
* * *
Daniel continued.
“You spent your life searching for talent.”
“You measured people by what they could produce.”
“You ignored the person standing right in front of you.”
* * *
Graham lowered his eyes.
Because Daniel was right.
* * *
“But I never made that mistake.”
Daniel looked at Noah.
“I recognized him.”
* * *
Noah looked uncomfortable.
“Did you know about me before I was born?”
The question shocked everyone.
Daniel didn’t answer immediately.
* * *
Then he said:
“Yes.”
* * *
My heart stopped.
* * *
“How?”
Noah asked.
Daniel looked at Graham.
“Because your father’s research predicted the possibility of someone like you.”
* * *
Graham shook his head.
“No.”
“Yes.”
Daniel replied.
“The data existed years ago.”
* * *
I looked at Graham.
“You knew?”
His silence was enough.
* * *
My chest tightened.
“Graham.”
He looked at me.
“I didn’t know it was Noah.”
* * *
“But you knew there was a possibility?”
He looked away.
“Yes.”
* * *
The pain on Noah’s face was immediate.
A child realizing adults knew something important about him…
And still kept him in the dark.
* * *
“Everyone knew.”
Noah whispered.
“Everyone knew something was different about me.”
* * *
Graham stepped closer.
“Noah…”
But Noah moved back.
* * *
“Why didn’t anyone tell me?”
Nobody had an answer.
* * *
Then Daniel spoke.
“Because they were afraid.”
* * *
I looked at him.
“Afraid of what?”
* * *
His expression became serious.
“Afraid that the world would see him as a tool.”
* * *
The room went silent.
Because that was the exact thing happening now.
* * *
Daniel continued.
“And they were right to be afraid.”
* * *
Graham’s eyes narrowed.
“What are you saying?”
* * *
Daniel looked at the invention.
“I’m saying someone else knows about Noah.”
* * *
A chill went through me.
“Who?”
* * *
Daniel looked at the security cameras.
Then at the dark screens.
* * *
“The people who tried to steal his invention…”
A pause.
“They weren’t trying to take the technology.”
* * *
Everyone waited.
* * *
“They were trying to find Noah.”
* * *
My heart stopped.
* * *
“Why?”
I whispered.
* * *
Daniel looked at my son.
And his answer changed everything.
* * *
“Because Noah isn’t just the creator of this invention.”
* * *
A pause.
* * *
“He is the key to something much bigger.”
* * *
Nobody spoke.
* * *
Graham looked furious.
“What does that mean?”
* * *
Daniel reached into his coat.
He pulled out an old file.
The same type of file from the original research program.
* * *
“This.”
He placed it on the table.
* * *
On the cover was a name.
Not Noah.
Not Graham.
Not Daniel.
* * *
A name I had never seen before.
* * *
Project Genesis.
* * *
Daniel looked at us.
“Seven years ago, someone started this project for one purpose.”
* * *
He opened the file.
* * *
“To find the child who could change the future.”
* * *
I stared at Noah.
My son.
The boy who thought he was just different.
* * *
Then Daniel said the words that made the room freeze:
“And Noah was never the only child.”
* * *
Silence.
* * *
“What?”
Graham whispered.
* * *
Daniel looked at the file.
“There were others.”
* * *
My blood ran cold.
* * *
“Where are they?”
I asked.
* * *
Daniel looked at me.
“They disappeared.”
* * *
The lights flickered.
The security system suddenly came back online.
* * *
Then a new message appeared on every screen.
Not from Daniel.
Not from the person who hacked the system.
Someone else.
* * *
“THANK YOU FOR FINDING HIM.”
* * *
Everyone froze.
* * *
Another sentence appeared.
* * *
“NOW BRING HIM HOME.”
* * *
Graham grabbed Noah’s hand.
For the first time, I saw pure fear in his eyes.
* * *
Because this was no longer about an invention.
No longer about money.
No longer about competition.
* * *
Someone had been searching for Noah since before he was born.
* * *
And now…
They had finally found him.
