Chapter 9 - The Mother Who Was Supposed to Be DeadMy mother had been dead for eighteen years.
At least, that's what I had been told.
Cancer.
Hospital.
Funeral.
Black dress.
Closed casket.
Memories.
A childhood story carved into stone.
I stared at Vivian.
“You're lying.”
“No.”
“My mother died when I was eight.”
“I know.”
“I watched the funeral.”
“I know.”
“You can't tell me she did this.”
Vivian shook her head.
“I'm telling you she wasn't the traitor.”
I felt my heartbeat slow.
“Then why did you say her name?”
“Because the list was changed using her identity.”
General Hale looked at Pierce.
“Can someone forge a military record using a deceased person's credentials?”
“Not unless they already had access.”
“Who did?”
Pierce looked at my father.
My father whispered,
“I didn't.”
We left for Fort Avery before dawn.
Nobody slept.
The entire drive was silent.
My mind replayed everything.
My mother's death.
My father's grief.
Vivian entering our lives two years later.
Chase growing up beside me.
The sudden attention surrounding Chase after Night Lantern.
The medals.
The interviews.
The speeches.
And my own silence.
At Fort Avery, General Hale led us through a restricted gate.
We descended underground.
The corridor seemed endless.
Concrete walls.
No windows.
No signs.
At the end stood a steel door.
General Hale entered a code.
Nothing happened.
He entered another.
Still nothing.
Then I noticed seven small symbols engraved beside the keypad.
The same symbols from the photograph.
I touched mine.
The door opened.
Inside was a room filled with screens.
Documents covered the walls.
And in the center was a long glass table.
Someone had already been there.
Files lay scattered.
One chair was still moving.
General Hale drew his weapon.
“Clear the room.”
We searched every corner.
Nobody.
Then a screen turned on.
A woman appeared.
I stopped breathing.
My mother's face.
Older.
Her hair streaked with gray.
But unmistakably her.
“Mara.”
I couldn't move.
My father stumbled backward.
“No…”
Vivian covered her mouth.
Chase stared at the screen.
The recording continued.
“I know you were told I died.”
My eyes filled with tears.
“Why?”
Her voice was calm.
“Because that was the only way to keep you alive.”
I stepped closer.
“You abandoned me.”
“I know.”
“You let me believe you were dead.”
“I had no choice.”
“You had eighteen years.”
“I was protecting you.”
“From whom?”
The recording paused.
Then she answered.
“From your father.”
My entire body went numb.
My father shook his head.
“No.”
My mother continued.
“Daniel was not the traitor.”
I looked at him.
“But he was being controlled.”
“By Rourke?”
“No.”
The screen changed.
An image appeared.
A bank account.
Then another.
Then another.
Names.
Payments.
Command structures.
Political donors.
Military contractors.
And one company.
ELLIS DEFENSE SYSTEMS.
My father's company.
I turned toward him.
He looked horrified.
“I never authorized those accounts.”
My mother's voice continued.
“Someone used your company to move money.”
“Who?”
The answer appeared on screen.
A photograph.
Vivian.
My stepmother.
My father stopped breathing.
Vivian whispered,
“No.”
My mother said:
“Vivian Ellis joined our family because she was sent to watch Mara.”
I turned slowly.
“Is that true?”
Vivian collapsed into a chair.
“Yes.”
The word was barely audible.
My father looked at her.
“You lied to me.”
She began crying.
“I was trying to protect her.”
“By abusing her?”
“No.”
“You attacked her.”
“I didn't know who she had become.”
I stepped closer.
“Who sent you?”
Vivian looked at the screen.
Then at me.
“I don't know his real name.”
General Hale asked,
“Who?”
She whispered,
“The man we called the Archivist.”
The lights went out.
The screen disappeared.
May you like
Then one final sentence appeared in glowing red letters.
HE IS ALREADY INSIDE FORT AVERY.
Related Stories
