Page 76 of A Knight’s Revenge: The Complete Series

“Miraculene is the world’s only two-dimensional material,” Silver began, her excitement increasing as she continued to flip through the documents on Dad’s drive.

“It’s made up of a single layer of atoms, and it’s not only nearly impenetrable but also extremely thin and light.

It’s the best conductor of heat and electricity we’ve ever seen, and it’s five hundred times stronger than steel.

It was supposed to be the thing in next-gen tech back when it was discovered, but no one could do much with it besides create tiny little sheets of it in the lab. ”

“But it looks like Knight did it,” Zepp added. “There’s documentation of the entire process in here. And draft patent applications. And, holy fuck, proposed contracts from the governments and militaries of like twenty countries.”

I controlled my trembling limbs, keeping my eyes glued to Noah’s face in an attempt to stay grounded. He tore his gaze from the computer and reached across the desk to squeeze my hand. I asked, “This is what James Spencer wanted so badly? Miraculene?”

“Jojo,” Zepp said gently. “What’s on here?

It’s world-changing. Your dad has the schematics for a miraculene desalination filter that could solve the global water crisis.

There’s a patent application for materials that would allow construction of buildings without electrical wiring because the miraculene walls conduct electricity on their own.

Not to mention the energy-saving implications of the natural heat conducting and cooling of a material like that. ”

“The textiles, though, Zepp,” Silver added.

“That’s what these military contracts are for.

Miraculene uniforms that are not only lightweight, keep the wearer cool in the heat and warm in the cold, and are bulletproof , but the miraculene textiles can also be made into smart clothes that monitor a soldier’s biomarkers like a smart watch. ”

“And… that’s all in here?” I asked. “None of this was ever anywhere on the Knight servers?”

“Not that we were ever able to find,” Zepp replied.

“Same here,” Silver added.

I looked at Noah, who still held my hand across the desk. His excitement from earlier had faded away, and now he wore a grim, serious look. “Is this something the Families would have killed him for?” I asked, barely above a whisper.

My question was met with heavy silence for a few long moments, before Zepp said, “I don’t know.

We know James Spencer never unlocked the drive, so he wouldn’t have seen any of this.

But he must have suspected it contained something valuable since he locked it away in his safe.

Let me just say this, Jojo—” He paused, and the telltale crack of him opening what was undoubtedly an energy drink sounded through the phone.

“—Knight would have been basically printing money with something like this. Owning all this tech, all the possibilities—it would have soared past the big names like Apple, Google, Microsoft, Amazon. Left them in the dust. People have killed for less.”

We all let that statement hang in the air. The familiar numbness was creeping through my body as I contemplated my parents’ murder with this new information.

I needed to know what the other Families could have possibly known about my dad’s secret work.

I needed to know if this was really it—the “why” I’d been asking all these years.

“Zepp,” I said softly. “Can you keep what’s on Dad’s drive safe? Safer than it was?”

“Yes,” he replied, and his confidence was a small comfort.

“I agree,” Silver added. “Zepp’s a little shit, but he’s the best there is.”

I blew out a breath, then I looked at Noah again.

His deep blue stare searched my face, and he squeezed my hand again before letting go to man his laptop once again. “Zepp, how long to download all of this to your system?”

“Two minutes.”

“Silver,” Noah went on, “when Zepp gives the okay, wipe the drive and corrupt it so it can’t be used again. Same with the key.”

“Yes, sir.”

While we waited, Noah stood up from his chair and made his way around the desk. He lifted me from my own chair, slid into it, then pulled me down into his lap, wrapping his arms around me in a much-needed Noah cocoon.

“We’ll get to the bottom of this, sweetheart,” he whispered in my ear. “And I know it won’t bring your parents back, but you now have the tools at your disposal to take over not just this City, but the whole world.”

I didn’t want the world. I wanted to bury the Families for what they’d done to us, and I wanted to keep the people I loved safe. That was it.

“All finished,” Silver announced. “Signing off.”

“Same here,” Zepp chimed in. “It’s all locked down with us now, Jojo. Just let us know how you want to proceed.”

“I will,” I replied before the double beeps announced they’d both left the call.

I snuggled deeper into Noah’s arms. “The only person who might know even a tiny bit about this is Anders,” I said after a moment. “He was on my dad’s research team before my parents died, but he’s been pretty clueless and panicked about what James Spencer could possibly want with Dad’s drive.”

Noah hummed. “Maybe. Be careful if you speak to him, though, sweetheart. They really do watch him like a hawk.”

“Yeah.”

I jumped as Noah’s phone buzzed in his pocket that was currently located right under my ass. I lifted enough so he could slide the phone out, and he let out a string of curses as he looked at the screen.

“Fucking perfect. My dad’s in the City.”

I didn’t like the sound of that. “Is he trying to see you?”

“Yes. Apparently my ignoring his phone calls for weeks finally forced him onto an airplane.”

“I…. I don’t like it, Noah.”

He pressed a kiss behind my ear. “I’m not going to let him get too close, sweetheart. But it looks like he may be trying to come on campus in the next day or two, and there’s only so much I can do to keep him away. Let me go see what I can make happen before he tries it.”

“Okay.” I climbed out of his lap, determined to pull myself together. When he stood up, I pulled him in for a deep kiss, which he returned with enthusiasm.

“Be safe,” I said.

“Always, sweetheart.”

He hustled out of his office, leaving me to sag against his desk.

I felt lost.

Pulling my phone out, I decided my search for answers wasn’t going to wait.

Me: Where is the most secure place we can meet?

Anders: Why? What’s happened?

Me: Just tell me

Anders: Knight Tower, now that you’ve taken it back. The penthouse is clear, I had it checked again recently. Your fingerprint should still work to access the Family elevator.

Me: Be there in 20

I was already walking out of the building, feeling my focus snap into place. I swiped to my last group message with Zach and Noah, sitting conveniently at the top of my texts.

Me: headed to KT to meet Anders, back in a few hours

I shoved my phone into the pocket of my sweatshirt, cinching my backpack tighter onto my shoulders as I speed-walked down the sidewalk toward the Academy’s front entrance.

The sun had dipped below the horizon a while ago, and the early-spring night air was chilly but not cold.

It would be a comfortable walk and a quick train ride to Knight Tower where I’d hopefully be able to mine something from Anders to help me figure out what all this meant.

And I had a sinking feeling that once I found what I was looking for, it was going to be worse than I’d ever imagined.