Chapter 11 - The Tape from the StormWe waited until morning.
Emma drew a map.
It looked like a child's scribble.
A road.
Three trees.
A big black house.
A red door.
And a river.
Cole studied it.
“This could be anywhere.”
I noticed a symbol in the corner.
A circle crossed by three lines.
The same symbol was in Claire's notebook.
We traced it through old property records.
It belonged to a company called Northstar Family Services.
The organization had closed four years ago.
Its registered property was forty miles outside the city.
An old boarding facility.
Abandoned.
Officially.
We went there with twelve officers.
The building stood behind a rusted fence.
Broken windows.
Peeling paint.
No electricity.
Yet one thing looked new.
A red door.
Emma's red door.
Inside, the halls were lined with mirrors.
No doors.
Just mirrors.
Cole touched one.
“Hollow.”
We pushed it.
A hidden hallway opened.
Inside were rooms.
Small.
Child-sized.
Each had a bed.
A camera.
A microphone.
And a name.
LILY.
SOPHIE.
MAYA.
Then the fourth room.
EMMA.
I could barely breathe.
The bed was made.
Fresh sheets.
A stuffed rabbit sat on the pillow.
Emma's rabbit.
The one I had buried after it disappeared from her room.
She screamed.
“That's mine!”
Cole lifted his weapon.
A monitor turned on.
Claire appeared.
“Daniel.”
I stepped closer.
“Where are you?”
“Below you.”
“What?”
“The basement.”
“Are you alive?”
“Yes.”
My entire world stopped.
“Tell me where.”
“Don't trust Adrian.”
“Why?”
“He isn't the one in charge.”
The screen flickered.
Claire looked behind her.
“They've been using me to get to you.”
“Who?”
She stared into the camera.
“Michael.”
My blood went cold.
“My brother?”
“Yes.”
The screen changed.
My brother appeared.
Older.
Alive.
He smiled.
“Hello, Daniel.”
I took a step back.
“No.”
“You always were stubborn.”
“You died.”
“I needed you to believe that.”
“Why?”
“Because you wouldn't have let me disappear.”
Cole shouted:
“Where are the children?”
Michael smiled.
“Safe.”
“You kidnapped them.”
“I protected them.”
“From what?”
“From people like you.”
I felt anger explode.
“You've been watching Emma.”
“I've been watching everyone.”
“Why?”
“Because someone had to.”
He leaned closer to the camera.
“Six years ago, you found the files.”
“You found out about the experiment.”
“What experiment?”
“Predictive behavior.”
I stared at him.
“They studied children who witnessed violence.”
Michael continued.
“They wanted to know whether fear could be inherited.”
Cole whispered:
“That's why the children were selected.”
Michael nodded.
“Lily, Sophie, Maya, Emma.”
“What happened to Claire?”
“She tried to expose us.”
“So you killed her.”
Michael smiled faintly.
“She was never killed.”
“Then where is she?”
“Below you.”
The screen turned off.
The floor beneath me creaked.
A trapdoor opened.
A voice whispered from below.
“Daniel?”
Claire.
Real.
Alive.
Cole pulled the hatch open.
A ladder descended into darkness.
I went first.
At the bottom was a corridor.
Glass rooms on both sides.
And inside the first room was a little girl.
She looked exactly like Emma.
Same dark eyes.
Same hair.
Same birthmark.
I stared at her.
She stared back.
May you like
Then she smiled.
“Daddy?”
