Chapter 12: The Secret of Project Rosebud

The silence after Victor Kane's message felt heavier than the attack itself.

Emerald stood in the middle of the control room, unable to move.

Project Rosebud.

Those words kept repeating in her mind.

"Dad knows something," she whispered.

Achilles watched her carefully.

He wanted to comfort her, but he knew she needed answers more than anything else.

"We need to talk to your father," he finally said.

Emerald nodded slowly.

"I want the truth."

Richard Hutton arrived at Valencian Estate less than an hour later.

The moment he entered the study and saw Achilles, Emerald knew he already understood why he was there.

"You heard him," Richard said quietly.

"Yes," Emerald replied.

"Project Rosebud."

Richard closed his eyes.

For years, he had hoped this day would never come.

"Dad... what is Project Rosebud?"

The older man remained silent.

"Please answer me."

"Emerald..."

"No." Her voice became firm.

"Seven years ago, I left believing everyone I loved had betrayed me."

"I lost my sister."

"I lost Ace."

"And now I find out my own father has been hiding something from me."

Richard looked heartbroken.

"I was trying to protect you."

"Everyone keeps saying that."

"But nobody asks what I wanted."

The room became quiet.

Finally, Richard walked toward the desk and opened an old locked drawer.

He removed a small black folder.

"This belonged to my father," Richard explained.

"Your grandfather."

"He was involved in a secret research project with several powerful families."

Emerald frowned.

"Research?"

"Not medical research."

"Information research."

"They collected secrets about influential families."

"They believed knowledge was the greatest weapon."

Achilles' expression darkened.

"The Kings."

Richard nodded.

"Yes."

"The organization was created by businessmen who wanted control over everything."

"Politics."

"Companies."

"Even governments."

Emerald opened the folder carefully.

Inside were old photographs, documents, and handwritten notes.

Her eyes stopped at one page.

"Subject: Rosebud."

Her fingers trembled.

"Why is my name here?"

Richard took a deep breath.

"Because you were never the target."

"You were the key."

Everyone froze.

"What does that mean?" Achilles asked.

"Your grandfather discovered that The Kings had hidden financial records and evidence against them."

"He copied everything before they could destroy it."

"Where did he hide it?"

Richard looked at Emerald.

"Inside something only you had."

Emerald's eyes widened.

"My diary?"

Richard nodded.

"Your childhood diary contained a hidden code."

"A code your grandfather created because he knew no one would suspect a child."

"You carried the information without even knowing."

Emerald stepped back.

"So my entire childhood..."

"Was I being used?"

"No," Richard answered immediately.

"Never."

"You were protected."

"But someone found out about the diary."

Achilles looked at the stolen diary report.

"That's why they took it."

"They believe the information is still inside."

Richard nodded.

"They need your memories to unlock it."

"But I don't remember anything."

"Because you were a child."

"Your grandfather hid the code inside ordinary moments."

"Chess games."

"Drawings."

"Stories you wrote."

Achilles suddenly looked at Emerald.

"Chess."

She turned toward him.

"What?"

"Your grandfather knew I played chess with you."

"He knew we spent time together."

"Maybe the code wasn't only in your diary."

Emerald's mind flashed back.

The chess matches.

The special moves.

The strange symbols her grandfather used to draw on the board.

"The rose pieces..." she whispered.

"What?" Achilles asked.

"My grandfather used to replace some chess pieces with wooden roses."

"He told me they were special."

Richard looked shocked.

"Where are those pieces now?"

Emerald swallowed.

"I don't know."

"I thought they were just toys."

Achilles immediately stood up.

"We need to find them."

"Why?"

"Because if your grandfather left a message..."

"Those pieces may contain the answer."

Before anyone could move, Marcus rushed into the room.

"Sir, we have another problem."

"What happened?"

"The police found Victor Kane's abandoned vehicle."

"And?"

"There was no sign of him."

"But there was something else."

Marcus placed a small evidence bag on the table.

Inside was a photograph.

Emerald picked it up.

Her face immediately turned pale.

The picture showed a little girl standing beside her grandfather.

Behind them was a man she recognized.

A younger Victor Kane.

"Impossible..." she whispered.

"He knew me when I was a child."

Achilles looked at the photograph carefully.

His expression changed.

"Emerald... look at the back."

She turned the picture around.

Written in faded ink were seven words.

"The rose blooms after the storm."

Emerald's heartbeat stopped.

Because those were the exact words Achilles had told her when she was nine years old.

"When you turn into a blooming rose..."

The same promise that had started everything.

The same words that had connected them for years.

Someone had been watching them from the beginning.