Chapter 97 - THE COURTHOUSE
The old courthouse was empty.
Dust covered the benches.
The lights flickered.
I held Noah's hand tightly.
Julian walked beside us.
Victoria stayed behind.
Mara had brought security.
We reached the basement.
A metal door stood open.
Inside was a small office.
Richard was waiting.
He looked at Noah.
Then at me.
“You came.”
“Yes.”
“You brought him.”
“He's my son.”
Richard smiled.
“Exactly.”
Julian stepped forward.
“You're finished.”
Richard laughed.
“Am I?”
He pressed a button.
The doors behind us locked.
Then the lights turned on.
Hundreds of monitors filled the walls.
Every screen showed a different person.
Mara.
Eleanor.
Victoria.
Julian.
Me.
Noah.
Richard looked at me.
“This is the real Circle.”
I stared at the screens.
“You kept surveillance on everyone.”
“For generations.”
“Why?”
“Because people are predictable when they're afraid.”
I looked at Noah.
Richard continued.
“Your mother understood that.”
“She hated you.”
“Yes.”
“Why didn't she kill you?”
“Because she believed people could change.”
I looked at him.
“And you?”
“I learned otherwise.”
He walked toward Noah.
Julian blocked him.
Richard smiled.
“You think protecting him means standing in front of him.”
Julian didn't move.
“It doesn't.”
Richard looked at me.
“It means deciding what kind of world he will grow up in.”
I felt something shift.
The monitors suddenly went black.
Richard looked confused.
Then Noah spoke.
“Mom.”
I looked down.
He was holding the little brown box from years earlier.
The box that had started everything.
He opened it.
Inside was a small metal key.
Richard's face went pale.
“Where did you get that?”
Noah looked at him.
“My grandmother gave it to me.”
Richard stepped backward.
“Eleanor?”
Noah nodded.
“She told me never to show Dad.”
Julian stared.
“Why me?”
Noah looked at him.
“Because she said you weren't ready.”
Richard whispered:
“She planned this.”
I looked at the key.
Then at the final locked cabinet in the room.
The key fit.
The cabinet opened.
Inside was one file.
May you like
THE ORIGINAL AGREEMENT.
Richard stopped smiling.
