Mystery Files Novels & Stories

I whispered in confusion as I flipped to the next page and what I saw next had my blood running cold. I kept flipping the pages, hoping it was some kind of joke but it wasn't. It was right there, staring in front of me. Just then, the door opened, and Michael walked in, freezing in his tracks when he saw the files in my hands. “What the hell is this, Michael?”

The files on the USB drive were a mess. Like, seriously disorganized. There were Word documents with weird titles like "Project Nightingale" and "Operation Sunset," a bunch of photos of random places I didn’t recognize, and a couple of video files with names like "Meeting 1" and "Meeting 2." It was like Jeffrey was trying to make his own spy movie.

Still looking in my eyes and threw a file on my bed and said "Go through that file. I'll need it tomorrow" still looking in my eyes. He turned to live but when he was at the door, he stopped for a second without turning back, then he left. ❤...❤

My heart pounded hard against my ribs. Whatever secrets Mom had been carrying, they were still here. And I was going to uncover every single one of them. No matter how dangerous it became. I began bringing the files out, one after the other, stacking them up on the floor. The dust rising from the old papers almost choked me, but I didn’t care. I pulled out the last one and dropped to the floor with it, my heart racing. I became confused on which to start from first. I was pushing each file off another, dusting them off, when my gaze caught a file with a name that also carried our last name on it. It was titled Frederick Luther Hale, Missing.

My hands trembled slightly as I opened it, bracing myself for whatever I might find. The file was filled with reports, documents, and strange photos that were hard to make sense of. Some of it was coded in a language I didn’t understand, but certain words stood out to me, chilling me to the core: experiments, mind manipulation, disappearances. There were mentions of individuals—patients? Subjects?—who had come to Blackwood seeking help, only to vanish without a trace.

Michael asked, his heart hammering. Clinton frowned, leaning closer to the screen. He tried the file again. Then he checked the metadata. “That’s impossible. The files before 4:00am are there, the files after 11:00pm are also there. But this gap…” He tapped a key, and a red error message blinked: FILE NOT FOUND/MANUALLY OVERWRITTEN. “Is it a glitch?”

Really, really awesome. Once he was gone, I pulled out the flash drive, connected it to his system, and sat on the sofa. I rummaged through the files on his laptop, but nothing caught my attention. Just as I was about to give up, I noticed a file titled ‘M’. This was it. I wanted to open it and see what secrets it held, but time was running out. I quickly began the process of copying the file. Wait...What the hell? Why was this file taking so long? It was agonizing. I glanced up the staircase—Cassius still wasn’t in sight. Be fucking fast, you idiot. Finally, the progress bar hit 90%, then 95, 96, 97, 98... “What the hell are you doing?”

After pressing the power button, the laptop boots up immediately. There is no password protection, which I think is stupid for a hacker but lucky for us. Maybe he thought the laptop will only be in his possession forever. The desktop’s interface is mostly empty. Just a few folders. I click on the first folder named CLIENT FILES. The folder opens. Inside it, there are subfolders labeled with names and codenames. The first two names instantly shock me: *MOORE, YVONNE* *GILES, BRYSON* Those fuckers! What kind of business do they have with Murphy? I am sure it’s definitely something shady.

“Fourth key?” Xavier searched the room. “Maybe there are three others.” Lucas walked toward the desk. A computer screen was already on. It displayed several folders. PROJECT NORTHSTAR CROWN-01 MORGAN LEGACY TRUST AIRCRAFT INCIDENT FAMILY SUCCESSION Lucas clicked on AIRCRAFT INCIDENT. The system requested a password. Xavier immediately began working. “Give me a minute.” Lucas looked around. “What about the other files?” “I'll open them one by one.”

I looked down—oversized hoodie, mismatched socks, and my hair barely shoved into a bun that had clearly lost the will to live. “Shut up,” I muttered. “Just show me the damn files.” Maya gave me a look but didn’t argue. She turned her laptop toward me, the glow of the screen casting her face in blue. The folder was already open. Videos. Audio files. Some of them were labeled with dates. Some just numbers. But there were a lot. More than I expected. I sat down slowly, my heart thudding in my throat. Maya clicked on the first one.