Three weeks after the old Blackstone property was searched, the dojo had settled into a new rhythm.
The students still arrived early. Shoes were left by the entrance. Belts were tied and retied. The mats were cleaned before the first class and again before the evening session. Nothing about the routine suggested that the building had once been the center of a twelve-year web of deception.
Lena preferred it that way.
She had learned that rebuilding something did not always require dramatic gestures. Sometimes it meant replacing a damaged light, correcting a training schedule, or making sure a nervous beginner knew exactly where to stand before class began.
That morning, she was writing attendance notes when Adrian placed an envelope on the desk.
"This came for you."
Lena looked at the handwriting.
She recognized it immediately.
Samuel.
Her expression tightened.
"Where did he send it?"
"To the dojo."
"Why?"
Adrian shook his head.
"He didn't say."
She opened the envelope carefully.
Inside was a single sheet of paper.
There is one name missing from Michael's records. Find it before someone else does.
Lena read the sentence twice.
Marcus, who was repairing a loose section of mat nearby, looked over.
"Bad news?"
"Maybe."
She handed him the letter.
His eyebrows rose.
"Who is missing?"
"I don't know."
Adrian took the paper.
"I thought the records were complete."
"They weren't."
He looked at her.
"How do you know?"
"Because Samuel wouldn't send this unless he knew something."
Adrian folded the letter.
"Then call him."
Lena did.
The call went unanswered.
She tried again.
Still nothing.
Thomas arrived ten minutes later and immediately noticed their expressions.
"What happened?"
Lena showed him the letter.
Thomas read it silently.
"My father."
"He's not answering."
Thomas pulled out his phone.
"I'll try."
He called.
Nothing.
His face changed.
"He always answers me."
Daniel entered behind him.
"What's wrong?"
Thomas looked at him.
"My father."
Daniel's expression became serious.
"What happened?"
"We don't know."
Lena explained the letter.
Daniel read it.
Then he looked toward the office.
"The missing name."
"What?"
"Maybe it's not a person."
Marcus frowned.
"Samuel said one name."
Daniel nodded.
"But Michael's records included companies, accounts, and people. Maybe the missing name belongs to someone who wasn't officially connected."
Lena considered it.
"An alias."
"Or an intermediary."
Adrian stepped toward the archive cabinet.
"We should review the original records."
They spent the next hour comparing the hard drive from the old property with the paper records preserved at the dojo.
The same names appeared repeatedly.
Michael Cross.
Samuel Reed.
Victor Hale.
Evelyn Cross.
Adrian Hale.
Several companies.
Several financial officers.
But one section of Michael's original notes contained gaps.
Dates were listed without corresponding names.
Payments were recorded without recipients.
And three pages had been removed entirely.
Marcus looked up.
"These weren't removed recently."
Adrian nodded.
"The paper is old."
Thomas frowned.
"Then someone removed them before Michael disappeared."
Daniel looked at the screen.
"Which means Michael knew someone was missing from the records."
Lena touched the empty spaces.
"Or someone wanted him to think the records were incomplete."
A noise came from the hallway.
Noah stood there.
He had been listening.
"Did you find something?"
Lena smiled.
"Maybe."
Noah looked at the papers.
"My dad said the missing person had a nickname."
Everyone turned.
"What nickname?" Thomas asked.
Noah thought.
"Blue Lantern."
Daniel frowned.
"That's not a name."
"No."
Noah shook his head.
"But Dad said it."
"When?"
"Before he sent me here."
Adrian looked at Thomas.
"Did Samuel ever mention it to you?"
Thomas shook his head.
"No."
Marcus typed the phrase into the archive.
No result.
He tried variations.
Still nothing.
Lena stared at the phrase.
"Blue Lantern."
Daniel looked thoughtful.
"Could be a code."
"Probably."
"Or a location."
Adrian suddenly walked to the old wall map.
The dojo had once marked nearby businesses and training centers.
He studied the map.
"There's a place called Blue Lantern."
Marcus looked up.
"Where?"
"An old boxing club."
"Still open?"
"No."
Adrian pointed.
"It closed fourteen years ago."
Lena's stomach tightened.
"That's the same year I was photographed there."
Everyone looked at her.
She remembered the picture from the underground room.
She had been standing beside her mother outside a community center.
The sign behind her had belonged to Blackstone Community Center.
But now she remembered something else.
There had been a blue lantern hanging beside the entrance.
"That's it."
Marcus stood.
"You've been there."
"As a child."
Thomas looked at her.
"Why would Michael have records connected to that place?"
Adrian answered.
"Because Michael used the club as a meeting place."
Daniel stared.
"With whom?"
"We don't know."
Lena looked at the clock.
"I want to go there."
Adrian shook his head.
"We don't know what's left."
"Then we'll find out."
Thomas nodded.
"I'm coming."
Daniel followed.
"So am I."
Marcus sighed.
"I assume I'm coming too."
Noah raised his hand.
Everyone looked at him.
"No."
His face fell.
Lena crouched.
"This isn't training."
"I know."
"Then stay here."
Noah hesitated.
"My father told me to watch the old records."
Thomas looked at him.
"What does that mean?"
Noah pulled a folded piece of paper from his backpack.
"My father gave me this too."
Thomas opened it.
A hand-drawn map showed the old boxing club.
Beneath it was a note.
If Lena finds the lantern, tell her where the first meeting happened.
Lena stared.
"The first meeting."
Adrian looked troubled.
"Between Michael and Victor?"
"No."
She pointed to the map.
"Between my mother and Samuel."
They drove across the city in silence.
The old boxing club had been abandoned for years. Weeds pushed through the cracked pavement, and the faded sign above the entrance had lost most of its letters.
A rusted blue lantern still hung beside the door.
Lena touched it.
Nothing happened.
Marcus examined the base.
"There's a keyhole."
Daniel looked at Adrian.
"Do you have a key?"
"No."
Thomas searched his pockets.
"Neither do I."
Lena remembered Samuel's letter.
She checked the envelope again.
Something hard remained inside.
A small brass key.
She stared at it.
Then she inserted it into the lantern.
The base opened.
Inside was a tiny metal compartment.
A photograph lay inside.
Lena removed it.
Her mother stood beside Samuel.
They were younger.
Between them was a man Lena had never seen.
On the back was a single name.
Jonathan Vale.
Adrian went pale.
Daniel looked at him.
"Who is he?"
Adrian stared at the photograph.
"The man who trained my father."
Lena looked closer.
"Then why was his name missing from Michael's records?"
Adrian answered quietly.
"Because Jonathan Vale was never supposed to exist."
Click Here to continue read next: PART14: The Missing Name Led Them to a Man Who Had Been Erased From Every Record, Yet His Connection to Blackstone Reached Further Than Anyone Expected
When the Quietest Student Reached for His Wrist, the Entire Room Realized Something Had Gone Terribly Wrong
Part 13 of 16
