Chapter 68: The Recruited One

"Recruited," Victor repeated quietly.

The single red stamp seemed heavier than every document we had uncovered so far.

Nobody spoke.

Arthur enlarged the scanned file.

"University Record Number 44721."

"Student: Elias Hayes."

"Status: Withdrawn."

"Reason: Confidential."

"That wasn't the original entry," Arthur said.

"Someone edited the database years later."

Victor remained frozen.

"My parents searched for him for nearly ten years."

"The police told us his boat capsized during a school trip."

"There was never a body."

"Nathaniel knew," I whispered.

"He found the truth."

"Apparently."

Victor slowly sat down.

For the first time since I had met him, he looked completely defeated.

"He was only nineteen."

"He wanted to become an engineer."

"He hated finance."

"He hated suits."

"He couldn't even lie without smiling."

"People like Raven don't recruit children because they're useful," Arthur said.

"They recruit them because they're easy to reshape."

Victor nodded silently.

"Exactly."

Arthur continued examining the file.

"There's another attachment."

"Personnel Evaluation."

"Not university paperwork."

"Internal."

"Open it," Damien said.

Arthur clicked the document.

A profile appeared.

"Candidate demonstrates exceptional pattern recognition."

"Psychological profile indicates high loyalty to family."

"Recommended strategy: remove family contact."

"Training suitability: excellent."

My stomach tightened.

"They profiled students before recruiting them."

"Like shopping," Damien muttered.

"Exactly," Victor replied.

Arthur scrolled further.

"Recruitment authorised by..."

He stopped.

"What?" Victor asked.

"There's only an initial."

"F."

"Nothing else."

"The Founder?" Damien suggested.

"Maybe," Victor answered.

"Or someone working directly beneath him."

Rose entered the library carrying fresh coffee.

She immediately sensed the atmosphere.

"Something happened?"

I handed her the photograph of Elias.

"Victor's brother."

"Raven took him."

Rose covered her mouth.

"I'm so sorry."

"Thank you," Victor replied softly.

"But sorrow won't bring him back."

"Maybe it doesn't have to," Arthur said.

Everyone looked at him.

"If Elias became Raven..."

"Then he may still be alive."

Victor stared at him.

"Twenty-six years later?"

"Why not?" Arthur answered.

"Richard survived nearly thirty years under another identity."

"Sophia survived inside Raven."

"People disappear all the time in this organisation."

"Not all of them die."

Hope flickered across Victor's face for the briefest moment.

"Nathaniel must have suspected the same thing," I said.

"Otherwise he wouldn't have kept Elias' file."

"He would've marked him as deceased."

"Instead he marked him as recruited."

"Meaning active," Arthur added.

"Potentially."

Victor stood.

"Search every one of Nathaniel's files for Elias Hayes."

"Anything."

"Emails."

"Photographs."

"Financial records."

"Everything."

Arthur connected another external drive recovered from Richard's study.

"Searching now."

Thousands of files scrolled across the screen.

Minutes passed.

Then the system chimed.

"Found something."

"Only one reference."

Nathaniel's diary.

"Read it," Victor said.

Arthur opened the scanned page.

"Met with E.H. today."

"He doesn't remember his real name."

"Condition worse than expected."

"Years of conditioning."

"Still... I saw him hesitate."

"There's hope."

Victor slowly closed his eyes.

"Nathaniel found him..."

"He actually found Elias."

"When was this written?" Damien asked.

"Eight months before Nathaniel died," Arthur answered.

"Why didn't he tell you?" I asked.

Victor smiled sadly.

"Because he knew I'd abandon the investigation."

"I'd spend every second looking for my brother instead."

"Nathaniel couldn't risk that."

"He needed you focused," I said quietly.

"Yes."

Arthur opened another attachment linked to the diary.

A blurred surveillance photograph appeared.

Nathaniel sat alone at an outdoor café.

Across the street stood a tall man in a dark coat.

His face was partially hidden beneath sunglasses.

"Is that Elias?" Rose asked.

Victor leaned closer.

"I can't tell."

"Wait..."

Arthur sharpened the image.

The man's left eyebrow carried a faint scar.

The same scar as the university photograph.

"It's him," Victor whispered.

"Older... but it's him."

"Nathaniel met him in secret."

"There's writing on the back of the photograph," Arthur said.

He flipped the scanned image.

Nathaniel had written only one sentence.

"He apologised without knowing why."

Nobody spoke.

Victor carefully sat back down.

"Then part of him survived."

"Somewhere inside Raven... my brother is still there."

Arthur suddenly looked toward the manor's security monitor.

"We've got visitors."

"Police?" Damien asked.

"No."

"Government vehicles."

"Three of them."

"No registration numbers."

Victor frowned.

"That's impossible."

"They're coming through the front gates," Arthur continued.

"Security isn't stopping them."

"They're using federal clearance."

A black sedan stopped outside the manor.

A woman stepped out wearing a charcoal-grey suit.

She carried no weapon.

Only a leather briefcase.

Rose looked through the window.

"Do you know her?"

Victor's expression changed instantly.

"Unfortunately... yes."

"Who is she?" I asked.

He took a slow breath.

"Her name is Margaret Sloan."

"Twenty years ago..."

"She was the prosecutor who officially declared my brother dead."