Chapter 12 - The House of LiesMy Mother Was Waiting in My Childhood Bedroom
I drove there alone.
Claire wanted to come.
I refused.
Not because I trusted my mother.
Because I didn't trust what she'd do if she saw Claire.
The old house stood at the end of a quiet street.
Everything looked smaller than I remembered.
The front porch.
The garden.
The windows.
My childhood bedroom was on the second floor.
The door was open.
Inside, a crib sat beside the bed.
Hope was there.
Alive.
Sleeping.
I stopped breathing.
My mother stood beside her.
Lydia Vale.
She looked exactly like the woman in the old photographs.
Older.
Elegant.
Calm.
"Hello, Daniel."
I wanted to kill her.
Instead, I walked toward my daughter.
"Let me take her."
"In a moment."
"What do you want?"
"You have your father's face."
"Don't talk about him."
She smiled.
"He was a stubborn man."
"You killed him."
"I survived him."
"You killed him."
She looked toward Hope.
"Your father would have hated what happened."
"Then why did you do it?"
"Because he chose you over everything."
I stared.
"He took you."
"He stole you."
"He saved me."
"He ruined my life."
She turned toward me.
"Do you know what your father did?"
"He protected me."
"He betrayed me."
"He betrayed everyone."
She shook her head.
"You've been told half the truth."
"Then tell me the whole thing."
Lydia walked to the window.
"Your father wasn't trying to destroy the network."
"What?"
"He was trying to take control."
"That's impossible."
"No."
She turned.
"He planned to eliminate me."
"And the other families."
"Yes."
"He wanted the empire."
"Yes."
"So you killed him."
"He would have killed me first."
I couldn't believe what I was hearing.
"And Claire?"
"Your wife knows more than you understand."
"What does that mean?"
"She was working with your father."
"To stop you."
"To betray me."
I stepped closer.
"Why did you go after Hope?"
Lydia's face softened.
"I didn't."
"Then who's holding her?"
She smiled.
I froze.
"What?"
"Look again."
I stared at the crib.
Hope was still asleep.
But something was wrong.
Her blanket was different.
Her stuffed rabbit was gone.
I rushed forward.
I picked her up.
She wasn't Hope.
My heart stopped.
The baby's face was similar.
But not my daughter.
A doll.
A silicone training baby.
Lydia laughed.
"You're learning."
I spun around.
"Where is my daughter?"
"Safe."
"Where?"
"With Claire."
My body went cold.
Lydia continued.
"She was never here."
I stepped backward.
"You staged this."
"Yes."
"Why?"
"To bring you alone."
I heard footsteps downstairs.
Lydia smiled.
"Your father taught you to ask the wrong questions."
"What do you want?"
"The signature."
"You'll never get it."
"You already gave it to me."
I froze.
"When?"
"Four years ago."
She pulled out a document.
My signature.
My name.
My date of birth.
I stared.
"What is that?"
"Power of attorney."
I felt dizzy.
"Victor said..."
"Victor lies."
"What did I sign?"
"A blank authority."
My blood ran cold.
"That's illegal."
"Not when your signature is authentic."
She stepped closer.
"Your father taught me everything."
"Where's Claire?"
Lydia smiled.
"With the people who have been waiting for her."
"Who?"
Lydia's expression changed.
For the first time, she looked afraid.
"The ones your father feared most."
The lights went out.
Gunshots exploded downstairs.
Lydia grabbed my arm.
"We have to run."
"What?"
"They found us."
"Who?"
She looked at me.
May you like
And whispered,
"The Federal Task Force."
