Chapter 11 - The Fake Police
The People Who Came to Rescue Us Weren't There to Save Us
The first shot hit the roof beside Rowan's foot.
He dragged me behind an air-conditioning unit.
“Stay down!”
The fake officers moved with military precision.
Two covered the stairwell.
Two surrounded Caleb.
Another grabbed Ivy.
Mom screamed.
Dad charged toward her.
A gun struck the back of his head.
He collapsed.
“DAD!”
I tried to run.
Rowan pulled me back.
“Don't.”
“They're taking him!”
“I know.”
“We have to do something!”
“We are.”
He looked at Daniel.
“Tunnel.”
Daniel nodded.
There was a maintenance hatch at the far end of the roof.
We crawled through.
The passage smelled like rust and oil.
Behind us, gunfire echoed.
Ivy cried softly.
Mom whispered prayers.
We finally emerged into an underground parking garage.
Rowan locked the gate behind us.
“Where's Dad?”
I asked.
Rowan didn't answer.
That was enough.
They had captured him.
My chest hurt.
“We go back.”
“No.”
“We can't leave him.”
“If we go back, they get you too.”
I stared at him.
“Then what's the plan?”
Rowan finally told us.
“Take you to the federal building.”
“Safe?”
He looked at Daniel.
Daniel shook his head.
“Not anymore.”
“Why?”
“Because Meridian has people inside.”
My phone buzzed.
A text.
“LYRA. YOUR FATHER IS ALIVE.”
Unknown number.
Then another.
“HE WILL BE KILLED IN FOUR HOURS.”
Ivy grabbed my hand.
“They're threatening Dad.”
Another message.
“BRING THE KEY TO THE OLD WATER PLANT.”
Then a photo appeared.
Dad.
Tied to a chair.
Alive.
Blood on his forehead.
Standing behind him was Caleb.
And beside Caleb stood Helen.
But the person in the background was the one who made me stop breathing.
My mother.
She was not tied up.
She was standing freely.
Talking to them.
I looked at her.
“What's that?”
She didn't answer.
I turned the phone toward her.
Her face collapsed.
“They took that before the roof,” she whispered.
“You're sure?”
“Yes.”
“Then why were you with them?”
“I wasn't.”
“You are in the photo.”
Mom looked at the image.
Then at me.
“This photo was taken three years ago.”
Silence.
“What?”
“I hadn't seen Caleb in seventeen years.”
I stared.
Rowan took the phone.
“That's impossible.”
Mom shook her head.
“No.”
She pointed at the image.
“That isn't me.”
I looked closer.
Same face.
Same hair.
Same necklace.
My heartbeat slowed.
“Who is it?”
Mom whispered,
“My sister.”
I froze.
“You never told us you had a sister.”
“She died when she was nineteen.”
“But she's standing beside Caleb.”
Mom covered her mouth.
Then the phone buzzed again.
This time, the message wasn't from the kidnappers.
It was from Dad.
“LYRA, LISTEN CAREFULLY.”
I opened it.
“YOUR MOTHER IS NOT YOUR MOTHER.”
I stared at the screen.
Ivy looked at me.
“Lyra?”
My fingers went numb.
May you like
Then another message came through.
“AND I DON'T KNOW WHO SHE IS.”
