Chapter 14 - Which Sister Was Which
Nobody moved.
Elena looked at Claire.
Except Claire was not there.
She was supposed to be at the secure residence with Caroline.
Julian stared at his sister.
Or the woman he believed was his sister.
“This is insane.”
Agent Sloan ended the call.
“No one leaves.”
Elena laughed in disbelief.
“Rebecca.”
“Stay where you are.”
“You know who I am.”
“I believe I do.”
Julian stepped beside Elena.
“This is my sister.”
Sloan looked at him.
“You were replaced for three days at twelve and didn’t know it until this week.”
Julian stopped.
The logic was brutal.
Elena held out her hands.
“Test me.”
Sloan nodded.
“We will.”
They returned to the secure medical facility.
A rapid comparative DNA panel confirmed Elena was Caroline’s daughter.
That proved nothing.
Claire was too.
Fingerprints solved it.
Elena’s childhood fingerprints existed on a passport application from age sixteen.
The woman from the cemetery matched them.
She was Elena Vance.
Marcus Hale’s information had been false.
Agent Sloan immediately ordered Hale detained.
He vanished before officers reached his apartment.
Inside they found photographs.
Hundreds.
Victor.
Elena.
Julian.
Caroline.
Claire.
Samuel.
Serena.
Some were decades old.
Marcus Hale had been observing the Vances long before he supposedly joined the financial crimes investigation.
Samuel stared at a photograph dated October 8, 2002.
Marcus stood outside Bellweather Children’s Institute.
“What was he doing there?” Julian asked.
Claire knew.
She had been brought from the secure residence after her own fingerprints confirmed her identity.
“He was a handler.”
Agent Sloan looked at her.
“You recognize him?”
“His name wasn’t Marcus.”
“What was it?”
Claire stared at the image.
“Dr. Hale.”
Samuel froze.
“Doctor?”
“He performed assessments.”
“On children?”
“Yes.”
Elena felt cold.
“How did he become a state investigator?”
Sloan’s expression hardened.
“That question may be bigger than Northstar.”
The hard drive from Margaret’s grave was opened under federal supervision.
Victor’s partial register contained 412 names.
Some marked ORIGINAL.
Some RESERVE.
Some TRANSFERRED.
Some TERMINATED.
Elena could not look at that word for long.
Julian’s file contained two entries.
J-4 ORIGINAL: JULIAN VANCE.
J-4 RESERVE: DANIEL REED.
Current status for Daniel:
ACTIVE.
Assigned transition date:
Friday.
Tomorrow.
Elena looked at Julian.
“The railway facility.”
He nodded.
Agent Sloan refused to let him participate.
Julian argued until Elena interrupted.
“They expect him.”
Sloan turned.
“No.”
“We finally know where Daniel will be.”
“No.”
“If Northstar realizes Serena talked, they disappear.”
Julian nodded.
“I go.”
Elena grabbed his arm.
“You are not proving anything by getting killed.”
“I know.”
“You don’t.”
He looked at her.
“I spent my entire life assuming Dad would clean up every mess.”
His voice softened.
“Let me clean up one.”
Elena hated the idea.
But she also understood.
The operation began at nine Friday night.
Julian drove Serena’s car toward the abandoned railway facility.
A microphone was hidden beneath his shirt.
Federal teams surrounded the area.
Elena watched from a command vehicle with Samuel and Claire.
Julian entered alone.
His voice came through the receiver.
“Hello?”
A second voice answered.
Exactly like Julian’s.
“Hello, Jules.”
Elena froze.
Claire closed her eyes.
“Daniel.”
A camera inside Julian’s jacket showed a man stepping from the shadows.
Same height.
Same face.
Same eyes.
Daniel looked at Julian and smiled.
“I’ve waited thirty years to meet the life they trained me to steal.”
Julian said nothing.
Daniel circled him.
“They told me you were spoiled.”
“I was.”
“Violent.”
“Sometimes.”
“Weak.”
Julian smiled bitterly.
“Frequently.”
Daniel stopped.
“That makes this easier.”
A gun appeared in his hand.
Federal agents prepared to move.
Elena grabbed Sloan’s arm.
“Wait.”
Daniel raised the gun.
Julian did not run.
“If you wanted me dead, you could have shot me before talking.”
Daniel smiled.
“Maybe.”
“Claire said you attacked a handler when you were twelve.”
Daniel’s expression changed.
“You know Claire?”
“Yes.”
“She survived?”
“Yes.”
The gun lowered slightly.
Julian continued.
“So did Elena.”
Daniel laughed softly.
“Of course Elena survived. She always survived.”
A door opened behind him.
Marcus Hale entered.
Elena’s pulse spiked.
Sloan raised her radio.
Marcus aimed a weapon at Daniel.
“Enough.”
Daniel turned.
Marcus fired.
Julian tackled Daniel before the shot hit him.
Federal agents stormed the building.
Gunfire exploded.
Elena heard Julian shout.
Then static.
The camera went black.
“Julian!”
No answer.
Elena ran from the command van before Sloan could stop her.
Inside the railway building, smoke filled the corridor.
Marcus Hale lay wounded near a stairwell.
Daniel was alive.
Julian was on the floor.
Blood covered his white shirt.
Elena dropped beside him.
“Jules.”
His eyes opened.
“Still greedy.”
She almost cried.
“You idiot.”
“Definitely.”
Paramedics rushed in.
Daniel sat against the wall, handcuffed.
He looked at Elena.
“You’re A-17.”
She stared.
“How do you know?”
Daniel looked toward Marcus Hale.
“Because he told me yesterday.”
Elena followed his gaze.
Marcus was conscious.
Barely.
She moved toward him.
“Who is Margaret’s daughter?”
Marcus smiled through blood.
“You already met her.”
Elena froze.
“Who?”
Marcus whispered something.
The paramedic leaned closer.
“What did he say?”
Elena heard it.
May you like
One name.
Rebecca.
