Chapter 8 - THE CHILD WHO REMEMBEREDDaniel replayed the footage three times.
“They took my real mother.”
Those words changed everything.
Sarah sat against the wall.
“I found him three years ago.”
“You said he was your son.”
“I had to.”
“Why?”
“Because they were looking for him.”
Daniel stared at her.
“Why would they care about a child?”
“Because Eli saw something.”
“What?”
Sarah hesitated.
“His mother being taken.”
Daniel frowned.
“That's what all this is about?”
“No.”
Sarah looked directly at him.
“He saw who ordered it.”
Daniel remembered Nathan's recording.
The drawing.
Captain Vance.
But Sarah shook her head.
“Vance is only a middleman.”
Daniel felt his jaw tighten.
“Who is above him?”
“I don't know.”
“You must know something.”
“I know the name.”
“What name?”
Sarah whispered:
“Director.”
Before Daniel could ask more, Rex began barking.
He charged toward an office door.
Daniel followed.
The room was empty.
Except for a small cassette recorder.
Daniel pressed play.
Nathan's voice came through.
“Daniel, if you're hearing this, you must trust Rex.”
Daniel looked down at the dog.
Nathan continued.
“Rex was trained on a scent that was never supposed to exist.”
Daniel frowned.
“What scent?”
“The scent of the children.”
Sarah stared at the recorder.
“They trained dogs to find them?”
“No,” Nathan said.
“They trained Rex to find the system that moved them.”
Daniel understood.
Rex wasn't following Eli.
He was following evidence.
Nathan continued.
“Someone inside Meridian designed the system.”
“Who?”
The recording stopped.
A second voice answered.
A woman's voice.
“Me.”
Daniel turned.
A woman stood at the doorway.
Gray suit.
Short hair.
Calm expression.
No weapon visible.
Sarah whispered:
“Dr. Evelyn Shaw.”
Daniel knew the name.
Meridian's chief systems architect.
Officially, she had retired two years earlier.
“You're alive.”
“Yes.”
“Where's Eli?”
Evelyn looked at Rex.
“He's closer than you think.”
Daniel raised his weapon.
“Hands where I can see them.”
Evelyn obeyed.
“You've been trying to solve a crime that no longer exists.”
“What does that mean?”
“The network was shut down.”
“People are still being moved.”
“Not by Meridian.”
“Then who?”
Evelyn's eyes shifted toward Sarah.
“She knows.”
Sarah shook her head.
“No.”
“You betrayed us,” Evelyn said.
“I saved him.”
“You stole the child.”
“I protected him.”
Daniel looked between them.
“Enough. Where is Eli?”
Evelyn sighed.
“Gate 14.”
“We already searched it.”
“You searched the terminal.”
She looked at the floor.
“You didn't search beneath it.”
Daniel remembered the hidden levels.
Then the airport shook.
A deep vibration rolled through the building.
Emergency lights turned red.
The radio announced:
“Structural failure detected in Terminal A.”
Daniel looked at Rex.
The dog was already running.
They chased him toward Gate 14.
When they arrived, the floor had split open.
Beneath the tiles was a staircase.
Rex descended.
Daniel followed.
The underground chamber was enormous.
At the center stood Eli.
He was holding the black electronic device from the backpack.
Daniel shouted:
“Eli, put it down!”
The boy turned.
“I can't.”
“Why?”
“Because Dad told me this is the only thing that can find my mother.”
Daniel stared.
“Your mother?”
Eli nodded.
Then the lights came on.
Hundreds of sealed doors lined the chamber walls.
And behind one of them came a woman's voice.
“Eli?”
The boy dropped the device.
“Mom?”
Rex suddenly growled.
Daniel looked at the door.
Because there was more than one voice behind it.
May you like
And one of them was whispering:
“Don't let him open the door.”
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