Chapter 11 - MARA'S MESSAGEClaire couldn't speak.
Her mother.
Alive.
Watching.
Manipulating.
Lily moved closer to her.
“Is that Grandma?”
Claire nodded slowly.
Mara's face remained frozen on the screen.
Emily looked at Julian.
“Where is she?”
Julian looked defeated.
“Unknown.”
Marcus demanded:
“Then how is she controlling all of this?”
Julian pointed to the computers.
“Remote access.”
Davis examined the system.
“Can we trace it?”
“Maybe.”
Marcus noticed a flashing location indicator.
“There's a signal.”
Davis leaned closer.
“Coordinates.”
They appeared.
A rural property.
Only thirty miles away.
Claire grabbed her coat.
“We're going.”
Davis stopped her.
“Not without backup.”
Claire looked at Lily.
“They have my daughter on their list.”
She was right.
There was no time.
The team left the underground facility through another tunnel.
Outside, dawn was beginning.
They drove toward the coordinates.
The property was an abandoned private clinic.
The sign had been removed years ago.
Davis entered first.
The halls were empty.
But every room contained old medical equipment.
Claire stopped.
“My mother worked in a clinic.”
Emily looked at her.
“Here?”
“Yes.”
Julian shook his head.
“No.”
He looked at the walls.
“This was one of Victor's facilities.”
Davis opened a metal cabinet.
Inside were patient files.
One file carried Claire's name.
Another carried Emily's.
And a third carried Lily's.
Marcus opened Lily's.
His face hardened.
“What?”
“There's a genetic report.”
Claire took it.
Her daughter's DNA had been compared to Nathan Cross.
Positive.
Then to Victor Vale.
Also positive.
Claire stared.
“That shouldn't be possible.”
Julian whispered:
“It is.”
Marcus looked at him.
“What does that mean?”
Julian answered:
“Victor and Nathan are brothers.”
Claire's eyes widened.
Emily said:
“Then Claire's biological father…”
“Nathan,” Julian said.
“And Victor is her uncle.”
Claire looked at the test.
“Why would they need Lily's DNA?”
Julian stared at the file.
“Because Lily isn't just Claire's daughter.”
Marcus frowned.
“What else is she?”
Julian looked at Claire.
“She is the next beneficiary.”
Claire understood.
The system was built around bloodlines.
Nathan created Claire.
Claire had Lily.
The trust would pass through Lily.
And the people controlling it wanted Lily.
Then a phone rang.
Lily's phone.
She looked at it.
“Mommy.”
Claire took it.
Unknown number.
She answered.
Mara spoke.
“Hello, Claire.”
Claire froze.
“Where are you?”
“You're getting closer.”
“Leave Lily alone.”
Mara laughed softly.
“I never wanted to hurt her.”
“Then why are you tracking her?”
“Because she belongs to the family.”
“She belongs to me.”
Mara's voice became colder.
“You still don't understand.”
Claire gripped the phone.
“What?”
“Lily carries something you don't.”
“What?”
“A gene.”
Claire's stomach tightened.
Mara continued:
“Your mother hid the truth because she was afraid of what Victor would do.”
“Then tell me.”
“You'll find out tonight.”
Mara hung up.
Seconds later, every screen in the clinic turned on.
One by one.
All showing Lily.
Sleeping.
Eating.
Playing.
Walking home from school.
Hundreds of videos.
Recorded over years.
Claire whispered:
“They've been watching her since birth.”
Then one final video appeared.
Lily was standing in their backyard.
But beside her was Mara.
In the recording, Mara leaned toward Lily and whispered:
“Don't tell Mommy I came.”
Claire turned toward her daughter.
Lily began crying.
“I knew Grandma.”
Claire knelt.
“How long?”
Lily whispered:
“She said you would understand when you found the blue door.”
Marcus looked toward the hallway.
“What blue door?”
Lily pointed.
At the far end of the clinic.
A blue door.
Exactly like the one from Claire's childhood.
The handle began turning.
May you like
Slowly.
From the inside.
