Chapter 8 - The Man Who Took Maya)
David ignored the warning.
Within twenty minutes, every bridge, tunnel, and airport surrounding Manhattan had alerts attached to Maya’s description.
Hall contacted federal agencies.
Chloe contacted Mark.
No answer.
Eleanor remained strangely calm.
David noticed.
“You know where he’s taking her.”
“No.”
“You’re lying.”
“I don’t know.”
“Then why aren’t you panicking?”
Eleanor looked exhausted.
“Because Richard would never hurt Maya.”
“He abducted my wife from a hospital.”
“He thinks someone is coming.”
“Someone is always coming according to this family.”
Eleanor flinched.
David walked away before his anger became useless.
Maya called forty-three minutes later.
David answered immediately.
“Where are you?”
“I’m okay.”
“Where?”
“I can’t tell you.”
“Is Richard there?”
“Yes.”
“Put him on.”
“David.”
“Put him on.”
Richard’s voice came through.
“Son.”
David closed his eyes.
Seventeen years collapsed into one word.
“You do not get to call me that.”
“I understand.”
“No, you don’t.”
“Probably not.”
“Bring Maya back.”
“I can’t yet.”
“You can.”
“David, the team at the hospital was Northstar.”
“How do you know?”
“Because I recognized one of them.”
“Who?”
“A man named Peter Knox.”
Hall reacted to the name.
David noticed.
Richard continued.
“Knox handled relocations for the Mercer program.”
David looked at Hall.
Hall was already typing.
“Where are you taking her?”
“Somewhere they won’t find.”
“They found our apartment. They found your case. They found Miami.”
“Yes.”
Richard’s voice became grim.
“Because someone inside your family helped them.”
David looked toward Eleanor.
She stiffened.
“Who?”
“That is what I am trying to determine.”
“Mark?”
“No.”
“You trust him?”
“With my life.”
“That is not reassuring.”
Richard almost laughed.
It sounded painfully familiar.
David hated that.
“David, Mark protected Claire for six years.”
“By lying to her?”
“Lies kept you alive.”
“That seems to be everyone’s excuse.”
Silence.
Then Richard said quietly, “You are right.”
That stopped David.
Richard continued.
“We made choices for children who eventually became adults. We should have told you sooner.”
“Sooner?”
“Yes.”
“Seventeen years sooner would have been useful.”
“I know.”
“Bring Maya home.”
“I will.”
“When?”
“When I know your home is safe.”
David looked around the police facility.
“Nothing is safe.”
“No.”
Richard’s voice lowered.
“That is why you need to open the envelope.”
David froze.
“The one in the case?”
“Yes.”
“Hall told me not to.”
“Hall doesn’t know what is inside.”
Hall heard.
His expression hardened.
David asked, “What is it?”
“Something Jonathan Mercer left for you.”
“My biological father?”
“Yes.”
“Why wait until now?”
“Because the instructions were explicit.”
“What instructions?”
“Only open it after Eleanor loses control of the case.”
David stared at his mother.
“She already lost it.”
“Exactly.”
The call ended.
David turned to Hall.
“I want the envelope.”
Hall shook his head.
“It is evidence.”
“So is my entire childhood.”
“David.”
“Get a warrant. Get permission. Do whatever you need.”
Hall considered.
Then nodded.
Two hours later, they opened it under camera.
Inside was a letter.
And a key.
David unfolded the pages.
My son,
If you are reading this, then I failed.
Your name is Daniel Jonathan Mercer, but I hope the people who saved you gave you a life better than the one I could offer.
There is something you must understand.
The program was never about memory.
Memory was only the tool.
The real purpose was identity replacement.
They wanted to know whether a child could be removed from one life, inserted into another, and raised without remembering enough to resist.
David stopped reading.
Hall stared.
Eleanor began crying.
Chloe whispered, “Oh my God.”
David continued.
The children in the Stamford house were not random.
Each was connected to a family with access, wealth, government influence, or strategic value.
You were not there because of me.
You were there because of your mother.
David looked up.
“Mother?”
Eleanor whispered:
“Not me.”
David returned to the page.
Your biological mother was Evelyn Mercer.
If Richard has kept his promise, he will have told you she died.
He is wrong.
She survived.
And if this letter has been opened, she may already be looking for you.
At the bottom was an address.
Not in America.
Germany.
David’s entire body went cold.
May you like
Frankfurt.
The city he had just returned from.
