Chapter 4 The Thief's Secret

I opened the folder named "THIEF." To my confusion, there was only one document inside.

When I opened it, I found a diary sitting inside. It wasn't written in my brother's handwriting, so it clearly belonged to someone else.

The diary's owner had meticulously documented how my brother had stolen another team's core idea, disguised it as his own theory, and ultimately used it to create the Genesis project.

At the very end of the diary, it read, "Luke Henderson, you stole my life from me. I will never let you off the hook even when I die."

The date at the bottom was the day before my brother's death.

Cold sweat instantly soaked my back. My brother had actually stolen his so-called genius theory.

Did that mean that he had killed himself out of guilt by jumping from the building?

I closed the document, my heart pounding wildly.

Just then, someone knocked on the study door. "Luke, I made you some coffee."

It was Willow.

I quickly restored the computer to its original login screen before getting up to open the door.

She was holding a cup of coffee, but her eyes drifted toward the computer screen. "Are you still working? Don't push yourself too hard."

She handed me the coffee, deliberately brushing her fingers against the back of my hand.

"By the way, are you really confident about dealing with Aiden?"

I took a sip of coffee, letting the scalding liquid clear my head.

"He won't be causing trouble for much longer," I said casually.

A flicker of surprise flashed through Willow's eyes before quickly giving way to delight. "I knew you'd figure something out."

She rose on her tiptoes and kissed me on the cheek. "I'll head to bed first, then. I won't bother you."

She turned and walked away, her graceful figure disappearing behind the door.

I returned to the computer and opened the encrypted video file.

My brother appeared on the screen. He was sitting in front of the main control console, his face pale. His eyes held a glint of fear and despair I had never seen before.

"I was wrong… I was really wrong…" he murmured as if confessing his sins to someone. "I shouldn't have stolen what belonged to you… I shouldn't have destroyed you…"

At the end of the video, he raised his head and looked into the camera, his eyes empty. "Aiden, you win."

The video abruptly cut off right there.

So, Aiden hadn't forced that agreement on my brother. He didn't have to, not when my brother had already lost long ago.

I leaned back in my chair, feeling as though all the strength had been sapped out of my body.

My brother, the genius everyone had placed on a pedestal, was nothing more than a con artist and thief hiding behind the facade of a genius.

And my parents had been willing to erase my life and make me take his place for the sake of that lie.

It was utterly ridiculous. I couldn't help but laugh at the absurdity of it all, laugh until tears streamed down my face.

I picked up my phone and dialed an unfamiliar number.

The call connected, and Aiden's lazy voice came from the other end. "Who's this?"

I suppressed all my roiling emotions and spoke calmly. "Mr. Shaw, this is Luke. I'm here about the bet. I want to raise the stakes."

…

Aiden and I arranged to meet at a private club.

I was leisurely polishing a wineglass when he arrived.

"You've got some nerve, asking me to meet you." Aiden sat down across from me, crossing his legs. His posture was relaxed, but his eyes were as sharp as an eagle's.

I pushed the polished glass toward him and poured him half a glass of red wine. "Mr. Shaw, let's be straight with each other. I can give you the Genesis project."

Aiden picked up the glass and swirled the wine without drinking it.

He smiled, but there was no warmth in it. "Give it to me? Are you asking me to let you off the hook?"

I shook my head. "No. I want to work with you."

I looked him straight in the eye. "There is a fatal flaw in the theoretical foundation of Genesis. You know that better than I do. However, I'm also aware that you want its potential applications more than anyone."

"You stole Corbin Mercer's theory, and now you want to drag me into this mess?" Aiden's voice turned cold.

Corbin Mercer. Ah, so that was the name of the diary's owner.

"I'm not dragging you into the mess. I'm helping you fill the hole."

I pushed a USB drive toward him.

"This contains my proposed revisions to the Genesis theory. They can resolve the core paradox, but I need your technical support."

Aiden picked up the USB drive, suspicion filling his eyes. "Why should I believe you?"

"Because of this." I opened the video on my phone and played my brother's confession.

Aiden's expression changed the moment he saw the video.

He stared at the screen, his jaw clenched tightly as a storm of complicated emotions churned in his eyes.

When the video ended, the private room fell dead silent.

It took him a long while before he finally spoke, his voice hoarse. "You knew?"

I nodded. "Now, we're in the same boat."

Aiden suddenly laughed, but it was a bitter, self-mocking thing. "Luke… No. You're not Luke."

He raised his head and scrutinized me intensely. "Who are you?"

I met his gaze and answered word for word, "I'm the man who can help you achieve your ambition."

He fell silent for a long time. Finally, he downed the glass of wine in one gulp and let out a harsh breath. "Fine. I'll take that bet."