Chapter 10 - We found my mother in the basement.She was unconscious.

Paige found her first.

“She’s breathing.”

Marcus checked her pulse.

“Drugged.”

I looked at Gwen.

She shook her head.

“It wasn't me.”

“I didn't accuse you.”

“You were thinking it.”

Maybe I was.

We carried my mother upstairs.

When she woke, she looked at me.

“David.”

“Where's Cross?”

She shook her head.

“Gone.”

“Where?”

“I don't know.”

“Why did he leave you?”

She stared at me.

“Because he got what he wanted.”

“What?”

“You.”

My stomach tightened.

“What does that mean?”

She pointed toward the hallway.

“The house.”

I frowned.

“What about it?”

“Your father built something here.”

I froze.

“What?”

“A server.”

Marcus turned.

“Where?”

“Inside the basement wall.”

We searched.

Behind a section of stone was a concealed panel.

Inside was a computer system.

Old.

But active.

The screen showed hundreds of files.

Every member of our family.

Every medical record.

Every communication.

Then I saw my name.

DAVID HAYES: ACTIVE SUBJECT

Status:

MEMORY RESTORATION: 71%

I stared.

Seventy-one percent.

My memories had been returning.

That meant the system was monitoring me.

I opened another file.

GWEN HAYES: SECONDARY SUBJECT

Status:

MEMORY RESTORATION: 94%

Gwen stared.

“What?”

I looked at her.

“You remember almost everything.”

She began shaking.

“No.”

The computer displayed a video.

Gwen appeared on the screen.

She was sitting alone in a room.

A date from six years ago.

She looked directly into the camera.

“If David ever sees this, tell him I'm sorry.”

Current Gwen covered her mouth.

The video continued.

“I was assigned to him.”

She swallowed.

“I was supposed to monitor his memory.”

My chest tightened.

“But I fell in love with him.”

The video version of Gwen began crying.

“They told me if I stopped reporting, they would kill David.”

I watched.

“I lied.”

She looked directly into the camera.

“I created false reports.”

“Where he was.”

“Who he spoke to.”

“What he remembered.”

“I protected him.”

Then a second voice entered.

My mother's.

“You're making a mistake.”

Gwen answered:

“I already made one.”

My mother appeared.

She looked terrified.

“If they find out, they'll kill you both.”

Gwen said:

“Then help me.”

My mother cried.

“I can't.”

The video ended.

Nobody spoke.

I looked at Gwen.

“Why didn't you tell me?”

“I tried.”

“When?”

“Many times.”

“Then why couldn't I remember?”

“Because you weren't the only one being manipulated.”

I stared.

“What?”

She pointed to the computer.

“Your memories weren't erased once.”

“They were erased repeatedly.”

I stepped back.

“Why?”

“To keep you confused.”

“Who controlled it?”

Gwen whispered:

“My mother.”

I turned toward Margaret.

She looked at me.

“I was trying to protect you.”

“You controlled my memory?”

“I only followed their orders.”

“How many times?”

She began crying.

“Four.”

I couldn't speak.

Four times.

Four times she had taken pieces of my life.

Then Paige interrupted.

“There's another file.”

She pointed at the screen.

OPERATION HOMEBOUND

We opened it.

The first line was simple.

Objective: Bring Subject D-17 home.

The next line:

Trigger event: Completion of foreign deployment.

Then:

Secondary objective: Recover physical evidence in subject's memory.

I stared.

“They wanted me to come home.”

Gwen nodded.

“Because whatever you saw overseas is still inside your head.”

“What did I see?”

“Something Blackridge wants.”

A final file appeared.

RECOVERY LOCATION: HOUSE

Then a message popped up.

TRANSFER COMPLETE.

Marcus stared at the screen.

“What transferred?”

I didn't know.

Then my phone vibrated.

One message.

From Cross.

You are carrying the evidence.

A second message.

You just don't know where.

A third message appeared.

Ask your mother what happened on the night your father died.

I looked at Margaret.

She was trembling.

“Mom.”

She looked up.

“What did Dad see?”

She began crying.

Then she whispered:

“He saw you.”

I froze.

“Me?”

“When you were twelve.”

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She stared at me.

“He saw what they turned you into.”