Chapter 9 - The Mother’s Confession
Some Lies Are Built to Protect You
Rowan opened the door with his weapon raised.
The clerk stood with his hands up.
“I came alone.”
“You followed us,” Rowan said.
“No.”
“You tracked the girls.”
“No.”
He looked at me.
“Your father told you to run because he knew what was coming.”
“Who are you?”
He hesitated.
“Daniel Pierce.”
“Agent?”
“Former.”
Rowan lowered the weapon slightly.
“Former Meridian.”
My mother looked away.
I stared at her.
“You knew about Meridian.”
She said nothing.
“Mom.”
Finally, she nodded.
“Yes.”
My voice cracked.
“How long?”
“Since before you were born.”
“Then why did you lie?”
“Because I was trying to keep you alive.”
“By pretending Elena was dead?”
“Yes.”
I stepped backward.
“You let me believe my real mother abandoned me.”
“She didn't abandon you.”
“You stole her from me.”
“No.”
Mom began crying.
“She asked me to.”
The room went silent.
“What?”
“Elena came to me the night before the crash.”
I stared.
“She knew someone was coming.”
Mom continued.
“She had you with her.”
“You're saying she gave me to you?”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“She wanted you to have a normal life.”
I laughed.
“Normal?”
I looked around at the hidden rooms, fake documents, agents, and bloodstained secrets.
“This is normal?”
Mom covered her face.
“She believed she would die.”
“But she didn't.”
“She disappeared because she had no choice.”
Dad looked at her.
“You never told me she was alive.”
“She asked me not to.”
“Why?”
Mom looked at him.
“Because you couldn't lie convincingly.”
Dad flinched.
That sentence seemed to crush him.
Daniel stepped forward.
“There is something you need to understand.”
“What?”
“Meridian isn't after the documents.”
“Then what?”
“You.”
I shook my head.
“Why?”
“Because Samuel left the master access key inside your identity record.”
Rowan stared at Daniel.
“Where is the key?”
Daniel looked at me.
“You are the key.”
The room fell silent.
“How?”
“You have a biometric marker.”
“What does that mean?”
“Your original birth records contain a genetic authorization protocol.”
I stared.
“That sounds insane.”
“It was designed by your father.”
I turned toward Adrian.
“You did this?”
He shook his head.
“No.”
Samuel did.
The original creator of Meridian.
Daniel continued.
“He believed his system would be used to protect witnesses.”
“But it wasn't.”
“No.”
“Then why put it in me?”
“Because he needed someone outside the program to hold the final key.”
I couldn't speak.
Then a loud crash echoed from the kitchen.
Rowan spun around.
“Down!”
Glass shattered.
A bullet struck the wall.
Mom screamed.
Dad pulled Ivy to the floor.
Rowan fired back.
Daniel grabbed me.
“Run!”
“Where?”
“The roof!”
We sprinted.
Behind us, the house erupted in gunfire.
Ivy was crying.
I pulled her along.
We reached the roof.
But someone was already standing there.
A man in a dark coat.
He raised a pistol.
Then looked directly at me.
And smiled.
“Hello, Lyra.”
I knew that face.
I'd seen it every morning for years.
He wasn't a stranger.
He was someone I trusted.
Someone my family trusted.
Someone I had never once suspected.
My mother's closest friend.
Helen.
But Helen wasn't the one holding the gun.
The man beside her was.
Dad whispered behind me:
“No…”
The man lowered his weapon.
May you like
“Adrian,” he said.
“I think it's time you admitted who I really am.”
