Sia, still fixated on the monitor, Said, " This is much, much bigger."

She added quietly, "Or it could be one person who messed with their fingerprints on purpose."

George frowned, clearly skeptical. "You really think someone would go that far? I mean, can you actually change your fingerprints?"

Sia didn’t take her eyes off the screen. "I’ve seen this happen before. It’s rare and usually not done by someone who’s just winging it. But it’s definitely possible."

She muttered, "And they might have used someone else’s fingerprints. Transparent polymer gloves with transferred ridge patterns could leave a perfect fingerprint... but not their own."

Just then, the computer let out a soft ding, letting them know it was ready to move on to the next set of fingerprints.

COMPARING PRINT A3 WITH PRINT B1...

PARTIAL MATCH – 38%

Sia leaned in closer, eyebrows raised. "Partial?"

Peter’s eyes went wide. "That’s pretty low."

"Low means tampering," Sia said, her tone serious. "Or someone’s trying to hide something."

They still couldn’t figure out who was keeping their identity under wraps.

The button on the screen started flashing.

"DO YOU WANT TO RUN A FULL DATABASE SEARCH?"

Without hesitating, Sia hit YES.

The lights in the lab dimmed a bit, showing that the system was cranking up its power for the analysis. A detailed map of ridge patterns lit up the screen with bright blue and green lines.

The lab went quiet as the database scan kicked off; the only sound was the hum of machines working.

SEARCHING FEDERAL RECORDS...

SEARCHING MEDICAL DATABASES...

SEARCHING INTERNATIONAL NETWORKS...

SEARCHING PRIVATE LABORATORY ARCHIVES...

With each moment that passed, the tension in the air grew, and they couldn’t shake the feeling that the results might change everything.

Red markers popped up one after another on the screen, each one lighting up the room in a creepy way.

NO MATCH.

NO MATCH.

NO MATCH.

Mateo broke the quiet. "So, either our ghost doesn’t actually exist..."

"Or someone made sure it wouldn’t show up," George jumped in, anxiety creeping into his voice.

Sia’s pen, which had been tapping nervously against the table, stopped suddenly as her focus shifted entirely.

Then, a new beep rang out, sharper and more urgent than the last.

The screen shook slightly before flashing a startling message:

POTENTIAL MATCH FOUND – 67%

UNREGISTERED BIOMETRIC PATTERN DETECTED

Sia felt a wave of nausea wash over her. "There it is..."

Peter stared, disbelief written all over his face. "Unregistered...? That’s crazy."

"Not really," Sia said quietly, her voice calm even as the tension rose. "Not if someone erased them from every system that exists."

Mateo squinted at the screen, trying to piece it all together. "Let me guess, this has to do with someone having messed with their biometrics?"

"Or someone whose identity has been completely wiped out," Sia answered, zooming in on a specific spot on the screen. "Check this out. The ridge flow looks normal here, but... here? You see the distortion? It’s subtle but shows that something’s been tampered with."

The room went quiet as they took in what she was saying, realizing how serious and complicated the situation really was.

Peter’s expression suddenly turned serious. "Someone messed with their fingerprints."

George raised an eyebrow. "You don’t mean a criminal just filed theirs down, right? This looks... way too precise."

"Exactly," Sia replied. "This isn’t something someone could do on their own. It’s a lab-grade alteration done by someone with access to high-end tech or chemicals that most people wouldn’t have."

Mateo inhaled sharply, trying to grasp how serious this was. "Who would even be able to pull that off? You think William Arthur had a hand in this?"

Sia leaned back, her eyes narrowing as she thought it through. "It could be someone who worked with William Arthur," she suggested. "Or maybe someone who is a product of his work." 𝙛𝒓𝓮𝒆𝔀𝒆𝙗𝓷𝒐𝙫𝒆𝙡.𝒄𝓸𝓶

Then she focused on one of the fingerprints displayed on the screen. "This one has a high ridge density... it likely belongs to a woman," she said, her tone thoughtful. "But we can’t say for sure just based on prints."

Mateo agreed, his mind racing. "Still, that does help narrow things down a bit."

The lab fell silent again, with only the machines humming softly in the background, creating an almost eerie atmosphere.

The fingerprints lay there on the table, looking harmless but hiding a truth none of them were ready to deal with.

Meanwhile, Leo was knocked out in his office, completely unaware that the secret he’d brought in was about to shake everything up.

********

It was already getting late, and the sun had disappeared behind a thick layer of clouds, giving the forest a soft, muted glow. Zayden was taking a casual walk along a winding trail, the smell of damp earth and pine needles in the air, with Zeynep walking next to him. He felt like it was his job to guide her, showing her the paths that twisted through the trees and warning her about the ones she should steer clear of. While they walked, Zeynep asked him which way led to the main road and which paths went deeper into the woods. Zayden answered her questions confidently, not realizing that she was more interested in leaving than exploring the peaceful nature around them. She thought she was a burden and worried that her presence might put him in danger.

"So, do you come here often?" she asked, trying to keep her voice steady.

"Yeah," he said, his eyes lighting up with nostalgia. "There’s a real sense of peace here among the trees. I love being outdoors; I’ve been coming here since I was a teenager to escape the city noise."

Zeynep nodded, though her heart was racing. "That sounds amazing. I’ve always wanted to live in the woods, but I don’t have a place out here. My family doesn’t own any cabins or have connections around. I can’t explain it, but there’s something about being in nature that pulls me in."

Part of her was lying, though. Deep down, she was scared of the dark shadows hiding among the trees, the wild animals wandering around, and the ghost stories that seemed to whisper through the branches at night. She chose her words carefully, wanting him to think she was totally into their little adventure. She feared that if she showed her real feelings, he’d push her to talk about it, which would expose her insecurities about the wilderness surrounding them.