Chapter 14 - The Woman Without a Grave
Elena remembered almost nothing about her mother.
A perfume scent.
A red scarf.
A voice singing near the kitchen window.
Her name had been Rebecca Ward. According to James, she had left after years of conflict caused by military life. Elena stopped asking about her before adolescence.
There had been no funeral.
No grave.
Only absence.
James sat at the garage desk while Elena stood beneath the damaged American flag.
“Rebecca was an intelligence analyst,” he explained. “She designed protected evacuation routes for witnesses and informants.”
“Operation Lantern.”
“The original operation saved hundreds of lives. Then someone began selling route information.”
“Warren.”
“Warren handled the payments. Creed protected the military side. But neither created the network.”
“My mother did?”
“No. She discovered it.”
“You said she created Lantern.”
“She created the system. Someone transformed it into a marketplace.”
“Who?”
James looked at the photograph from the waterproof box.
Rebecca was not in it.
He turned the photograph over and peeled back a hidden layer.
A second image appeared underneath.
A woman stood behind the soldiers.
She wore civilian clothing and dark glasses.
Elena recognized the shape of her face.
“Rebecca disappeared after collecting evidence,” James said. “She told me to protect you and continue the investigation.”
“You let me believe she abandoned me.”
“If you searched for a missing mother, they would watch you. If you hated a woman who left, you would stay away from her.”
“You decided hatred was safer?”
“I decided survival was safer.”
Elena’s eyes filled, but her voice remained controlled.
“You had no right.”
“No.”
“Is she alive?”
“I don’t know.”
“Warren said the person controlling Marcus wouldn’t permit him to harm Lily.”
James looked troubled.
“Rebecca would never threaten her.”
“But someone who knows Rebecca might protect Lily.”
Nolan entered from the underground room carrying a laptop.
“We found the frequency connected to the bloodstained patch.”
“Where does it lead?” Elena asked.
“A weather station in the mountains.”
James stood.
“That station was Rebecca’s emergency contact site.”
Maya appeared behind Nolan.
“There’s more. The frequency transmitted a message after Marcus escaped.”
She played the recording.
A woman’s distorted voice said, “Phase One is complete. Bring Marcus to the northern site. Elena must arrive willingly.”
Elena listened again.
The distortion could not hide the rhythm of the voice.
A memory surfaced.
Her mother singing near the window.
Three soft words between verses.
Come home, Elena.
The recording ended with the same words.
James looked shattered.
“It’s her.”
“You’re certain?”
“Yes.”
Maya closed the laptop.
“The mountain station has been abandoned for twelve years. Satellite images show recent vehicle tracks.”
“We go tonight,” Elena said.
James shook his head.
“That’s what she wants.”
“She may have Marcus.”
“She may control Marcus.”
“You believe my mother is behind the network?”
“I believe eight years can change anyone.”
Lily entered holding Teddy.
“Mommy?”
Elena turned.
Lily looked from one adult to another.
“Is something bad happening?”
Elena crouched.
“We found someone from our family.”
“Grandpa?”
“Someone else.”
Lily’s eyes widened.
“Grandma?”
James looked away.
Elena nodded.
“Maybe.”
“Does she know me?”
The question hurt more than Elena expected.
“I don’t know.”
Lily opened the small pocket sewn into Teddy’s stomach.
“There was a letter inside.”
James had repaired the bear only hours earlier.
He stared at it.
“I didn’t put anything there.”
Elena took the folded paper.
The handwriting was elegant and unfamiliar.
ELENA,
YOUR FATHER WILL TELL YOU I BECAME THE ENEMY.
YOUR ENEMY WILL TELL YOU I WAS ALWAYS THE SAVIOR.
BELIEVE NEITHER.
COME TO THE NORTHERN STATION ALONE, AND I WILL SHOW YOU WHY LILY WAS CHOSEN BEFORE SHE WAS BORN.
R.
Beneath the message was a photograph of Elena during pregnancy.
It had been taken through a hospital window.
Standing in the corridor behind her was General Creed.
May you like
Beside him stood Warren.
And between them was a woman wearing a red scarf.
