Chapter 12 - THE CALL FROM A DEAD WOMAN
Emma took the call in a secured interview room.
Detective Quinn recorded every word.
“Emma,” the woman said.
The voice was older and weaker, but Emma recognized it immediately.
Her mother.
Emma gripped the telephone.
“I buried you.”
“No. You buried a sealed coffin.”
“I saw your necklace.”
“They gave it to another woman.”
“Where are you?”
“I can’t tell you.”
“Are you with Dr. Cross?”
A long pause.
“I was.”
Emma closed her eyes.
“You let me believe you were dead for seven years.”
“It was the only way to keep you safe.”
“You sent me to Sterling Manor.”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“Because Cross was preparing to remove Ethan and Eleanor permanently. I needed someone Isabella would underestimate.”
“You used me.”
“I trusted you.”
“You gave me no choice.”
“I’m sorry.”
Emma’s anger cracked around the sound of her mother’s breathing.
“Are you really Rose Hale?”
“That is the name I chose.”
“What was your name before?”
The line became quiet.
“Rose Cross.”
Emma looked at Quinn through the glass.
“Julian Cross is your father.”
“Yes.”
“Then he’s my grandfather.”
“Yes.”
Relief and horror struck at once.
“He said he was my father.”
“He wanted to destabilize you. Cross believes identity is only a collection of memories. He destroys certainty because uncertain people are easier to control.”
“Why did you help Eleanor?”
“Because she was the first person who made me understand what my father had become.”
“Where is the patient register?”
“You carry the copy. The original is still inside Sterling Manor.”
“We searched everything.”
“No. You searched the rooms Cross wanted you to find.”
“What remains?”
“The nursery.”
Emma thought of the mansion’s upper floor.
“There is no nursery.”
“There was before Ethan was born. Henry sealed it after Eleanor discovered the first child.”
“Who was the first child?”
Rose began to answer.
A loud noise sounded on her end of the call.
“Mother?”
“You must leave the hospital.”
“What happened?”
“He found me.”
“Cross?”
“Emma, listen carefully. Isabella is not the mastermind, and Langley is not your enemy. Cross built the program, but someone else controls it now.”
“Who?”
The line crackled.
Rose whispered a name.
The audio failed at that exact moment.
A gunshot followed.
The call disconnected.
Quinn traced the signal to an abandoned chapel outside London.
Police found blood, a broken telephone, and no body.
On the chapel wall, someone had written:
THE DAUGHTER ALWAYS RETURNS HOME.
William ordered Sterling Manor evacuated.
Isabella remained in custody, but she refused to answer questions unless she could speak to Emma.
Against Quinn’s advice, Emma went to the interview room.
Isabella sat behind a metal table without makeup or jewelry. She looked smaller, but not defeated.
“You heard from Rose,” Isabella said.
“How do you know?”
“Cross tells me what he wants me to know.”
“He abandoned you.”
“He abandons everyone.”
“Why did you imprison Ethan?”
Isabella’s face tightened.
“Because Cross said he would kill him otherwise.”
“You drugged him.”
“I kept the dosage below what Cross ordered.”
“You locked Eleanor behind a door for seven years.”
“I visited her every night.”
“To torture her?”
“To ask where she hid the original register.”
Emma leaned forward.
“And if she had told you?”
“I would have destroyed it.”
“To protect yourself.”
“To protect Ethan.”
Emma stared at her.
Isabella lowered her voice.
“Do you think the names in that register belong only to victims? They include judges, ministers, physicians, intelligence officers, and people who will burn this country to the ground before allowing the truth to surface.”
“That isn’t a reason to bury it.”
“No. But it is a reason to understand why Cross is still alive.”
“Who controls the program now?”
May you like
Isabella smiled without warmth.
“Ask William who financed the merger.”
