I can document what he does, but I cannot explain how he does it. David Kim closed his tablet. "We have enough translations to begin building our legal defense. The detail and accuracy are irrefutable.

If we can authenticate these translations independently, we can win this case. But Malcolm suddenly went still, his head tilted as if listening to something only he could hear. "There's one more," he whispered. "One more scroll that belongs with these, but it's far away.

James leaned forward. "Far away where? Across the ocean with someone old, someone who's been waiting. Malcolm's young face creased with concentration.

The scroll is calling, but it's so faint. It's been alone for so long. The room fell silent. James realized with sudden clarity that they'd only found part of the answer.

The complete truth lay somewhere else with someone unexpected. And somehow this impossible boy was the only one who could hear its call. Diane put a protective hand on Malcolm's shoulder. Honey, what do you mean?

What scroll? The one that makes all the others complete. Malcolm said, like the last piece of a puzzle. Without it, the story isn't finished.

And the story needs to be finished. Mama, it's been waiting too long to be whole again. James met David Kim's eyes. His attorney's expression reflected his own thoughts.

This was impossible. They couldn't chase across the world based on an 8-year-old's mysterious intuition. Yet everything Malcolm had said so far had been true. "Where across the ocean?

James asked quietly. "Can you tell me more? Malcolm closed his eyes. "Somewhere with old buildings and mountains, somewhere that smells like home to you, even though you left.

His eyes opened. ancient wisdom in a child's face. The scroll knows you're looking now. It's been keeping itself safe, waiting for the right time. And the person who has it, they've been waiting, too.

James felt something shift in his chest. Seoul. Malcolm was describing Seoul, where James's grandfather had lived, where the Park family's roots ran deep. But who would have the missing scroll?

And how could Malcolm possibly know it existed? I need to make some calls, James said, standing abruptly. His mind was already racing through possibilities. Contacts in Korea, family members he'd neglected for years in his single-minded pursuit of profit.

As Diane prepared to take Malcolm home, the boy turned back to James. Don't wait too long, Mr. Park. The scroll is very old, and so is the person keeping it safe.

Some things can't wait forever. The words carried a weight that made James's carefully controlled world feel even more precarious. Everything was about to change. He could feel it.

3 days had passed since Malcolm's revelation about the missing scroll. James's legal team worked frantically preparing their defense with the existing translations. David Kim had assembled an impressive case based on what Malcolm had already deciphered. But James couldn't shake the boy's words.

It's calling from across the ocean. His logical mind insisted this was impossible. Chasing halfway around the world based on an 8-year-old's mystical intuition, defied every business principle he'd ever followed. Yet Malcolm had been right about everything else, every impossible thing.

James tasked Ethan with researching family history, digging deeper than corporate records and estate documents. He contacted relatives in Seoul he hadn't spoken to in years, awkward conversations with aunts and uncles who barely recognized his voice. His aunt Park Giwan provided the crucial information. "Your grandfather had a mentor," she said over the crackling international line.

Professor Min. She specialized in traditional medicine and ancient texts. They were very close before he died. Is she still alive?

James asked, his pulse quickening. Yes, 87 years old now, still living in Seoul in the old Hanok in Bukchon village. Your grandfather trusted her with many things. The phone call to Professor Min was arranged through his aunt.

When the elderly woman answered, her voice was weak but sharp, cutting through pleasantries with surgical precision. "So, you are his grandson," she said, not as a question but as an assessment. Your grandfather would be disappointed in what you've become.

"All business, no heart. The words stung more than James expected. "Professor Min, I'm facing a crisis, a lawsuit that could destroy my company. I've discovered ancient scrolls and there's a child who can translate them.

He says there's one more scroll hidden across the ocean with someone who's been waiting. A long silence on the line. Then a child who hears the ancestors. Your grandfather said one would come.

James's pulse raced. What do you mean? Professor Min's voice softened with memory. 40 years ago, your grandfather entrusted me with a scroll, an Imperial Patent from the Qing Dynasty.

He said, "Keep this safe until the right time. You'll know when that time comes. I pressed him. "How will I know?

He said, "When a child who hears what others cannot come seeking it, then the time has arrived. She paused, and James heard the rustle of paper, the creek of old wood. I thought he was being superstitious, poetic in his old age. But I kept my promise, never revealed the scrolls existence to anyone.

Now you call me about a boy who translates impossible texts. Perhaps your grandfather knew something we didn't. I need to see that scroll, James said. It could save everything.

Then come to Seoul, Professor Min replied. If this matters enough, you'll make the journey. If not, the scroll stays hidden. And bring the child. I want to meet him.

David Kim was adamant in his objection. James, we have 50 days left. You can't waste three of them flying to Korea on a mystical hunch. We have enough translations to build a solid defense.

But something in James had shifted. The careful calculation that had governed his entire life felt suddenly insufficient. Arrange the flight. We leave tomorrow.