Chapter 16 - Khloe's SecretKhloe was gone.
The police couldn't find her.
Neither could we.
Her phone was dead.
Her apartment was empty.
But Detective Bennett found one thing.
A locked box.
Inside were photographs, access cards and a handwritten notebook.
The first page contained one line.
If Hannah finds this, it's already too late.
I read the rest in silence.
Khloe had known about Orchid for years.
Not everything.
Enough.
Her father had left her instructions.
Follow Nate.
Work for the Turners.
Find the administrator.
She had thought Nate was the enemy.
Then she discovered he was trying to destroy the program.
That's why she stayed.
That's why she wore the pajamas.
That's why she'd lied.
Not to seduce my husband.
To provoke me.
To force me to investigate.
The pajamas had been a message.
The clothes Nate gave her had been linked to a hidden locker in our home.
Inside the locker was a key.
A key that opened another facility.
Detective Bennett looked at me.
"Why would Khloe disappear now?"
I read the notebook again.
A page was marked in red.
ADMINISTRATOR TWO MUST NEVER MEET ADMINISTRATOR ONE.
I looked at Nate.
He was conscious now, but weak.
"Who is Administrator Two?"
He didn't answer.
"Nate."
"I don't know."
"You do."
He closed his eyes.
"I suspected."
"Tell me."
"The system wasn't designed for two administrators."
"Then why does Khloe have access?"
He looked at me.
"Because she wasn't selected."
"What?"
"She inherited it."
I didn't understand.
"From her father."
Nate continued.
"Thomas Mercer was one of the original engineers."
"That means Khloe..."
"Has the second half of the genetic key."
I felt cold.
"The system needs both of us."
Nate nodded.
I stared at the notebook.
"So Avery wasn't trying to kill Khloe."
"No."
"He was trying to use her."
"Yes."
"Then where is she?"
Nate looked toward the window.
"I know where she went."
"Where?"
"Your father's house."
My heart stopped.
"My father doesn't have a house."
"He does."
"Where?"
Nate whispered the address.
It was in a neighborhood I'd never heard him mention.
I looked at Detective Bennett.
"We go now."
Before we could move, my phone buzzed.
A live video.
Khloe.
She stood in a dark room.
Behind her was Jonathan's old laboratory.
She looked directly into the camera.
"Hannah."
I answered.
"Khloe?"
"If you're watching this, don't trust Nate."
He sat upright.
"Khloe, listen to me."
She ignored him.
"Your father is lying."
Jonathan was silent.
Khloe continued.
"He didn't create Orchid."
I stared.
"He stole it."
Jonathan's face drained of color.
Khloe's voice shook.
"And he didn't invent the system."
She looked behind her.
A second figure stepped into view.
An elderly woman.
My mother.
Alive.
I dropped the phone.
No sound came out.
The woman looked into the camera.
May you like
And smiled.
"Hello, Hannah."
