Chapter 10: Beneath the Hospital
The first thing I felt was pain.
The second was Nora crying.
The third was Ethan's hand gripping mine.
“Mara.”
His voice was weak.
“I'm here.”
I opened my eyes.
Darkness surrounded us.
Dust floated through the air.
Concrete covered the floor.
A broken emergency light flickered overhead.
I looked down.
Nora was pressed against my chest.
Alive.
Crying.
I pulled her closer.
“Mommy's here.”
Then I looked at Ethan.
Blood covered his shirt, but he was conscious.
“You're alive.”
He gave me a weak smile.
“So are you.”
I tried to move.
Pain exploded through my abdomen.
I stopped.
Ethan immediately noticed.
“Don't.”
“We need to get out.”
“We will.”
“Where's Daniel?”
Silence.
I looked around.
“Daniel?”
No answer.
“Karen?”
Nothing.
The explosion had separated us.
Then a voice came from the darkness.
“Judge Carter.”
I froze.
Thomas Vale.
I turned.
He stepped from behind a concrete pillar.
His suit was covered in dust.
His face was bleeding.
But he was alive.
I immediately moved in front of Nora.
“Stay away from us.”
Thomas raised his hands.
“I won't hurt you.”
“You've been lying to me for seven years.”
“Yes.”
“You erased my memory.”
“Yes.”
“You knew about Ethan.”
“Yes.”
“You knew about the Blackwood Trust.”
“Yes.”
I stared at him.
“Then tell me the truth.”
Thomas looked at Ethan.
“He already knows.”
Ethan shook his head.
“Not enough.”
Thomas sighed.
“The Blackwood Trust was created after a classified operation went wrong.”
“What operation?”
“Operation Black Compass.”
The name hit me.
I remembered it.
Not clearly.
Just fragments.
A sealed file.
A black symbol.
A list of names.
People who officially never existed.
Thomas continued.
“The operation involved intelligence agencies, federal prosecutors, military contractors, and senior politicians.”
“Why?”
“To remove witnesses.”
My stomach tightened.
“Witnesses to what?”
Thomas looked at me.
“The assassination of President Alexander Monroe.”
I stared at him.
“That was fifteen years ago.”
“Yes.”
“The official investigation concluded it was a lone gunman.”
“That conclusion was fabricated.”
Ethan looked at him.
“Who ordered it?”
Thomas hesitated.
“That's what the Blackwood Trust contains.”
I looked around.
“Then why is everyone trying to destroy it?”
“Because the original evidence is still alive.”
I frowned.
“What does that mean?”
Thomas pointed toward the wall.
“Look.”
A small screen was embedded in the concrete.
It flickered on.
A list appeared.
Hundreds of names.
Then one name appeared at the top.
WITNESS 001: MARA ELIZABETH CARTER.
My breath caught.
“Me?”
Thomas nodded.
“You were there.”
“I was a prosecutor.”
“You weren't investigating the assassination.”
He paused.
“You were investigating the cover-up.”
I felt dizzy.
“What did I discover?”
Thomas looked at Ethan.
“His father.”
I stared at him.
“Charles?”
“Yes.”
“Charles helped cover up the assassination?”
“Not alone.”
Thomas stepped closer.
“He helped move money.”
“Money from where?”
“The government.”
I shook my head.
“That makes no sense.”
“It will.”
Thomas pointed toward another file.
“Open it.”
I walked to the screen.
My hands trembled as I touched it.
The system recognized my fingerprint.
The screen changed.
A video appeared.
A younger version of me stood inside an office.
Seven years younger.
Angry.
Terrified.
Talking to someone off camera.
My own voice came through the speakers.
“I know what you did.”
A man's voice answered.
“You don't know anything.”
“I have the ledger.”
“No, you don't.”
“I copied it.”
The man stepped into frame.
My heart stopped.
It was Charles Whitmore.
Alive.
The younger me stared at him.
“You were supposed to be dead.”
Charles laughed.
“That's the point.”
The video ended.
I stared at the screen.
Thomas spoke quietly.
“That was the last recording before they took you.”
“Who took me?”
“Reed.”
“Why didn't you stop him?”
Thomas looked ashamed.
“Because I was afraid.”
“You let them do it.”
“Yes.”
I turned away.
“You watched them destroy my life.”
“I watched them destroy your memory because I thought it was the only way to keep you alive.”
I laughed bitterly.
“You call that saving me?”
“No.”
His voice cracked.
“I call it cowardice.”
For the first time, Thomas looked genuinely broken.
Then Ethan noticed something.
“Mara.”
He pointed behind me.
A small red light was blinking.
Three times.
Then two.
Then three.
I recognized the pattern.
Someone was signaling us.
“Daniel.”
Thomas shook his head.
“No.”
“Then who?”
He walked toward the wall.
Pressed his ear against it.
A faint sound came through.
Tap.
Tap.
Pause.
Tap.
Tap.
I looked at Ethan.
“Someone's trapped.”
Thomas found a hidden panel.
He opened it.
Behind the wall was a narrow chamber.
Inside was Daniel.
He was unconscious.
His shoulder was bleeding.
I rushed toward him.
“Daniel!”
Thomas checked his pulse.
“Alive.”
Daniel slowly opened his eyes.
“Did... Reed get away?”
“Yes.”
Daniel tried to sit up.
“Then we're not safe.”
“I know.”
He looked at Thomas.
His eyes widened.
“You.”
Thomas nodded.
Daniel immediately reached for his weapon.
Thomas stepped back.
“Wait.”
“You're the one who betrayed her.”
“I know.”
Daniel raised the gun.
“Then give me one reason not to shoot you.”
Thomas looked at me.
“Because I know where they're taking Noah.”
My heart stopped.
“What?”
Thomas looked at me.
“Your son wasn't taken by Reed.”
“Then who has him?”
Thomas hesitated.
“Someone from Black Compass.”
“Who?”
He swallowed.
“The original handler.”
“Name.”
Thomas looked terrified.
“Evelyn Shaw.”
I frowned.
“Who is Evelyn Shaw?”
Daniel's face went pale.
“You don't know?”
“No.”
He looked at me.
“She was the director of the Black Compass operation.”
Thomas nodded.
“And she's been dead for twelve years.”
I stared at them.
“Then how does she have my son?”
Nobody answered.
Thomas slowly pointed toward the tunnel.
“Because she's not dead.”
A distant cry echoed through the darkness.
A baby's cry.
Noah.
My heart stopped.
“That way.”
We ran.
The tunnel opened into a massive underground chamber.
At its center stood a woman.
White hair.
Black coat.
No emotion in her eyes.
And in her arms was my newborn son.
Noah.
I stopped breathing.
“Put him down.”
The woman looked at me.
Then smiled.
“Judge Carter.”
I stepped forward.
“Give me my baby.”
She shook her head.
“You still don't remember.”
“Remember what?”
She looked at Ethan.
Then Daniel.
Then Thomas.
Finally, she looked directly at me.
“You were the one who ordered the assassination.”
The world stopped.
Ethan stared at me.
Daniel lowered his weapon.
Thomas closed his eyes.
I shook my head.
“No.”
The woman smiled.
“You don't remember because we made sure you wouldn't.”
She held Noah closer.
“Fifteen years ago, President Monroe was killed.”
She paused.
“And you gave the order.”
I felt my knees weaken.
“That isn't true.”
She smiled.
“Then perhaps you should watch the recording.”
A screen descended from the ceiling.
It turned on.
And there I was.
Fifteen years younger.
Standing in a dark room.
Holding a phone.
Then my younger voice spoke four words that destroyed everything I believed about myself.
“Execute the president tonight.”
The screen went black.
May you like
Noah began crying.
And I realized I had just been shown the one piece of my past I was never supposed to remember.
