Chapter 11 - The Road to Aurelia
By 2:00 a.m., Ashcroft House had become a crime scene.
Mercer’s officers found hidden transmitters inside three rooms, a false police uniform in the kitchen cellar, and evidence that someone had accessed the estate through an abandoned drainage tunnel.
They did not find the intruder.
They also did not find Adrian.
Claire refused to surrender the Archive Eight chip.
Mercer threatened to obtain a warrant.
Claire reminded him that his own department had been compromised.
Neither trusted the other enough to force the issue.
Mrs. Finch insisted on driving Claire and Mia toward Lake Aurelia. Daniel joined them despite Eleanor’s order to remain at the estate.
Richard stayed behind to protect the company.
Or protect himself.
Claire could no longer tell the difference.
The rain weakened as they drove north.
Mia slept in the back seat with the broken birthday frame beside her.
Daniel watched the dark road.
“Do you remember the baby?”
Claire kept her eyes forward.
“I remember believing she was dead.”
“I mean before the accident.”
“I remember feeling her kick whenever Adrian played piano.”
Daniel looked down.
“I should have told you about the crying in the east wing.”
“You were a child.”
“I knew Mother lied.”
“So did I. I simply did not know how much.”
Mrs. Finch drove for another mile before speaking.
“Evelyn was born with respiratory complications. Samuel Vale believed his experimental treatment could save her.”
“Did it?”
“Yes.”
Claire looked at her.
“Then why hide her afterward?”
“Because the treatment worked.”
“That makes no sense.”
“It worked in a way no one expected. The genetic marker in Evelyn’s blood produced an unusually strong response. Samuel believed it could lead to a cure for a rare degenerative disease.”
“And Eleanor saw money.”
“Victor saw money. Eleanor saw control.”
“What did my father see?”
Mrs. Finch’s hands tightened around the steering wheel.
“Redemption, eventually.”
Claire leaned back.
“Eventually is a convenient time to become moral.”
No one answered.
At dawn, they reached the northern border.
A roadblock blocked the mountain pass.
Three black vehicles stood across the highway.
Men in unmarked tactical clothing approached.
Mrs. Finch slowed.
Daniel looked behind them.
Another vehicle had appeared, trapping them.
Claire woke Mia.
“Stay low.”
A man tapped the driver’s window.
“Road closed due to a landslide.”
Mrs. Finch lowered the glass slightly.
“We’ll turn around.”
“No need. We’ll escort you.”
His eyes moved toward Claire.
He knew who she was.
Daniel whispered, “These are not police.”
The man reached for the door handle.
Mrs. Finch accelerated.
The car struck him and broke through a gap between the vehicles. Gunfire cracked behind them.
Mia screamed and covered her head.
A bullet shattered the rear window.
Daniel pulled Mia down and shielded her with his body.
Mrs. Finch drove into the mountain curves at dangerous speed.
“They found us too quickly,” Claire said.
“Someone tracked the chip,” Daniel answered.
“No. The chip is offline.”
“Then the car.”
Mrs. Finch reached beneath the dashboard and tore away a small magnetic device.
A red light blinked on it.
She threw it through the broken window.
“Who had access to this vehicle?” Claire asked.
“Everyone at the estate.”
“Richard,” Daniel said.
Claire did not want to believe it.
Richard had been cold, ambitious, and loyal to Eleanor, but betraying Evelyn to armed men required something darker.
Mrs. Finch took an old forestry road.
The black vehicles followed for several miles before the narrow trail forced them back.
By sunrise, the car’s fuel gauge was almost empty.
They stopped at an abandoned service station.
Mia sat on the curb while Claire cleaned a small cut on her cheek.
“Are the bad men looking for my sister?”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“Because adults sometimes want things that do not belong to them.”
“Like Grandma wanting the company?”
Claire glanced at Daniel.
He looked away.
“Something like that.”
Mia held up the damaged frame.
“I put two pictures inside.”
Claire carefully separated the wet backing.
One photograph showed Mia and Claire at the beach.
The other was an old photograph Mia had taken from Claire’s drawer.
Adrian beside the pool.
Mia pointed to the corner.
“I found this behind Daddy’s picture when the frame broke.”
A tiny paper strip had been hidden beneath it.
Claire unfolded it.
Three words were written in Adrian’s handwriting.
FOLLOW THE BLUE BELLS.
Mrs. Finch looked toward the forest.
Wild bluebells covered the ground beyond the service station.
They formed an unnatural line between the trees.
Claire picked up the archive chip.
“Adrian knew we would come this way.”
They followed the flowers for nearly half a mile.
At the end of the trail stood a stone cottage.
Smoke rose from the chimney.
A wooden sign hung above the door.
ROSE HOUSE.
Claire knocked.
No one answered.
She pushed the door open.
The cottage was empty.
Breakfast remained warm on the table.
Four chairs had been pulled out.
On one chair lay a girl’s blue sweater.
Beside it sat a cassette recorder.
Claire pressed PLAY.
Evelyn’s voice filled the room.
“Mom, if you found this, they are taking us to the lake.”
May you like
A gun clicked behind Claire.
Adrian said, “Do not turn around.”
