Chapter 5 - Buried Evidence

After the call, Jacob rushed to Alfred's room, his mind racing with possibilities. As he burst through the door, he found Alfred hunched over his laptop, his face illuminated by the screen's cold light."What happened?" Jacob asked, his breath coming in short bursts.Alfred looked up, his eyes filled with a mix of excitement and fear. "Look at this, Jacob. I've found something related to my dad."Jacob's heart skipped a beat. "Oh, really? What is it?"Alfred gestured to the screen. "You know my father was a scientist, right?""Yeah," Jacob nodded, "Everyone knows that. He was well-respected.""But do you know which company he worked for?" Alfred continued, his tone growing more intense.Jacob frowned, trying to remember. "The South Tech Corp, right? I remember hearing that name when the news broke.""Exactly," Alfred said, his voice tight with emotion. "But what you might not know is that the company shut down a few years after the incident."Jacob's eyes widened. "Shut down? Why? I never heard about that... We were kids when it all happened.""Yeah, but here's the thing," Alfred said, leaning in closer as if sharing a dangerous secret. "There were rumors... rumors that my father was working on some kind of weapon for them."Jacob blinked, stunned. "A weapon? You mean like a military weapon?"Alfred nodded gravely. "That's what they said. But it was all hushed up. No official records, no public statements. Just whispers and rumors that faded away after the company went under."Jacob could feel the weight of the revelation pressing down on him. "But... do you really think your dad was involved in something like that?"Alfred stared at the screen, his fingers hovering over the keyboard. "I don't know, Jacob. But I found something that might be related."He paused, taking a deep breath before continuing. "A few weeks ago, I went back to the old house, the one where the explosion happened. It's been abandoned for years, but I felt like I needed to see it again. While I was there, I found a hidden compartment in what used to be my dad's study. Inside it was this old hard drive."Jacob's eyes widened in surprise. "You found it at the house? Why didn't you tell me?""I wasn't sure what it was at first," Alfred admitted. "The drive was in bad shape, and it took me a while to even get it to work. But when I finally accessed it, I realized it might hold the answers I've been looking for."Jacob leaned over to look at the screen. The files were labeled with cryptic names and dates, none of which made any sense to him. "Are these from your dad's work?"Alfred nodded. "I think so. I found them buried in that hard drive. It took me weeks to even figure out how to access them, and now... now I'm close to getting them open.""Do you think they could explain what really happened?" Jacob asked, his voice hushed with anticipation."Maybe," Alfred said, his voice barely above a whisper. "But I'm not sure if I'm ready to know. What if... what if it's true? What if my dad really was working on something dangerous? Something that caused the explosion?"Jacob put a hand on Alfred's shoulder. "Whatever we find, we'll face it together. You don't have to do this alone."Alfred looked up at Jacob, his eyes filled with gratitude. "Thanks, Jacob. I just... I just want to know the truth."Just as he said that, a notification popped up on the screen—a breakthrough in the decryption process. Alfred's hand trembled as he moved the cursor to open the file.The room was filled with a tense silence as they waited for the document to load. When it finally did, both boys stared at the screen, their breath caught in their throats.The file was filled with technical jargon, diagrams, and detailed notes. But one word stood out, repeated multiple times throughout the document: Project Void."What is this?" Jacob asked, his voice barely audible."I don't know," Alfred replied, his voice shaky. "But I think... I think this is what my dad was working on."