Chapter 16 - The Message Inside Iris
Theo called Iris again.
This time she answered immediately.
She appeared to be driving through heavy rain, but Mara noticed that the scenery outside her window repeated every seven seconds.
The call was fabricated.
“Mara,” Iris said, “do not let Evelyn touch the column.”
Then her expression changed.
“Mara, give Evelyn complete access.”
Her voice alternated between urgency and calm, as if two people were fighting for control of the same recording.
Evelyn removed her access card.
“If I connect this, I may be able to locate the real Iris.”
“Or release Mira,” Theo said.
June pointed toward the ceiling.
“She’s not in the phone.”
Everyone looked at her.
“The silver lady is in the phone. The other lady is upstairs.”
Mara’s stomach tightened.
Theo raced up the staircase.
The bedroom security monitor showed Iris standing in the upstairs hallway.
Not a recording.
The real Iris wore a dark coat and held her service badge. Her face was pale with exhaustion.
“I entered through the back door,” she explained when they confronted her. “Your locks opened for me.”
Mara studied her carefully.
“How do we know you’re real?”
Iris raised her sleeve.
Beneath the skin of her wrist, a blue light flashed.
May you like
“You don’t.”
Behind them, the underground entrance closed by itself.
