Chapter 8 - The Mother Without a Grave
The mysterious woman’s name was Evelyn Vale.
She did not reveal it immediately.
After administering the real injector, she remained beside Maren until the worst of the reaction passed. Her security agents restrained Reed, Celeste, and Dr. Kline while another team swept the west wing.
The large television continued displaying the message.
THIS IS ONLY THE FIRST FILE.
Reed struggled against the agent holding him.
“This is an illegal invasion.”
The elegant woman rose from Maren’s side.
“You signed control of residential security to Vale Protective Services six months ago.”
“I signed with Halston Residential.”
“A subsidiary.”
Reed stared at her.
She removed her rain-darkened coat and handed it to an agent.
Beneath it, she wore a tailored black suit.
A thin scar crossed the left side of her throat.
Maren had the same scar in the same place, though hers was smaller and almost invisible.
A childhood surgery, her father had said.
The woman turned toward the television.
“Play the next file.”
The screen changed.
The hospital video returned.
A younger Evelyn lay unconscious in bed while smoke moved beneath the door.
A nurse entered carrying one newborn.
Then another.
She placed them in two bassinets.
Moments later, Celeste appeared.
Younger, frightened, and furious.
“You promised Edmund would never see them,” she said to someone behind the camera.
A man answered.
“He will see one.”
“Which one?”
“The one we choose.”
Celeste looked toward the sleeping infants.
“And the other?”
“Insurance.”
The footage stopped.
Reed looked at his mother.
Celeste’s face had become utterly still.
Maren pushed herself upright with the help of a medic.
“Who was behind the camera?”
Evelyn faced her.
“Silas Voss.”
“My grandfather?”
“Yes.”
“He planned this?”
“He recorded it.”
“That is not the same answer.”
“No,” Evelyn said. “It is not.”
Maren studied her face.
The shape of her eyes.
The line of her jaw.
The small scar at her throat.
“Are you my mother?”
Evelyn looked as though she had waited a lifetime to hear the question and still did not know how to answer.
“I gave birth to two daughters,” she said.
“That is not what I asked.”
“The hospital switched the bracelets.”
“Dr. Kline told me.”
Evelyn’s gaze moved to him.
Kline stood between two agents, his face gray.
“You spoke to her,” Evelyn said.
Kline replied, “She deserved the truth.”
“You do not know the truth.”
“I know enough.”
“No. You know what Celeste allowed you to survive knowing.”
Celeste laughed quietly.
Everyone turned.
She stood beside the staircase, still holding the wine glass, though one agent had restrained her wrist.
“You always were dramatic, Evelyn.”
Evelyn approached her.
“And you always mistook patience for weakness.”
“Thirty-two years is more than patience.”
“It took thirty-two years to locate every copy.”
“Of what?”
“The adoption ledger.”
For the first time, Celeste’s composure broke.
Barely.
But Maren saw it.
Reed did too.
“What ledger?” he asked.
Evelyn looked toward the agents.
“Where is Lila Moreno?”
One agent touched the earpiece at his collar.
“Cellar door is reinforced. We found a secondary biometric lock.”
“Explosives?”
“Confirmed beneath the west corridor. Remote trigger is active.”
Evelyn turned to Celeste.
“Disable it.”
Celeste smiled.
“No.”
“Lila and her brother are below us.”
“So are three decades of records you cannot afford to lose.”
Maren pulled herself against the table.
Her legs shook, but she remained upright.
Reed stared.
“You can stand.”
She looked at him.
“Not because of you.”
He stopped struggling.
Something like betrayal crossed his face, as though her recovery were the crime.
Maren turned to Evelyn.
“The tunnel team is already inside.”
Evelyn’s eyes sharpened.
“How do you know?”
“You messaged me.”
“I said we were inside the property. Not the tunnel.”
Maren’s blood chilled.
She took out the black phone.
The message remained on the screen.
DO NOT OPEN THE TUNNEL.
WE ARE ALREADY INSIDE.
Evelyn examined it.
“I did not send this.”
Maren looked toward Dr. Kline.
He whispered, “The other daughter.”
A violent explosion shook the mansion.
The chandelier swung.
Glass shattered in the west corridor.
The lights flickered.
Smoke rolled beneath the dining room doors.
One of the agents shouted, “Detonation in the chapel!”
Evelyn spun toward Celeste.
“You triggered it.”
Celeste lifted her restrained hand.
“No device.”
A second explosion sounded below them.
The floor jumped.
The television changed again.
A live camera feed appeared.
The cellar.
Lila was tied to a chair beside her younger brother.
Behind them stood a woman wearing a black hooded coat.
She faced the camera.
Then slowly removed the hood.
Maren stared at her own face.
Not similar.
Not close.
The same.
May you like
The woman on the screen smiled.
“Hello, sister.”
