Chapter 8 - The call ended.Clara felt numb.
“What does that mean?”
Liam looked at Tommy.
“Where is Lily?”
Tommy hesitated.
“Safe.”
“Where?”
“Somewhere Marcus can't reach.”
Liam grabbed him by the jacket.
“Where?”
Tommy shoved him away.
“There's a reason I couldn't tell you.”
“Tell me now.”
Tommy stared at Clara.
“She isn't just a witness.”
Clara's heart pounded.
“What is she?”
Tommy pulled out another file.
Inside was a photograph of a newborn baby.
Under it was a genetic profile.
Clara didn't understand most of it.
But one line was highlighted.
GENETIC MATCH: MIRIAM HIGGINS.
Clara stared.
“My mother?”
Tommy nodded.
“Lily is biologically connected to Miriam.”
“That's impossible.”
“Not if your mother was her biological grandmother.”
Clara's eyes widened.
Lily wasn't her sister.
Lily was her niece.
Tommy's daughter.
Clara stared at him.
“You're her father?”
Tommy's face collapsed.
“I never wanted this.”
“You let me raise your child?”
“I protected you.”
“You let me believe I was her sister.”
“I was trying to keep her alive.”
Clara backed away.
“You lied to me for six years.”
Tommy couldn't answer.
Liam stepped between them.
“Enough.”
Clara turned toward him.
“And you?”
His face remained unreadable.
“What did you know?”
“I knew there was a child.”
“Did you know she was Lily?”
“No.”
“Did you know my family was involved?”
“Yes.”
Clara laughed bitterly.
“So everyone knew except me.”
Liam didn't argue.
A sound came from outside.
An engine.
Then another.
Then several.
Bobby's voice came through Liam's radio.
“President, we're surrounded.”
Liam's hand moved to his weapon.
Tommy looked toward the windows.
“Marcus.”
The cabin lights went out.
Then gunfire began.
Liam shoved Clara to the floor.
Bullets tore through the walls.
Tommy crawled toward the back room.
“There's a tunnel.”
Liam followed.
They entered a narrow passage beneath the cabin.
Clara heard shouting behind them.
The tunnel led into the forest.
They emerged near an old church.
Tommy looked at Clara.
“This is where Lily is.”
Clara's heart raced.
Inside the church, a woman was waiting.
She was in her sixties.
Elegant.
Calm.
She looked at Clara.
Then smiled.
“You have your mother's eyes.”
Clara stepped closer.
“Who are you?”
“My name is Eleanor Cross.”
Tommy looked down.
“She's one of the founders of Project Lily.”
Clara stopped.
Eleanor handed her an envelope.
“Your mother wanted you to have this.”
Clara opened it.
Inside was a letter.
Clara,
Everything you know about your life is built on one lie.
But the lie was necessary.
Because the truth would put a target on your back.
You think we hid Lily from the world.
We didn't.
We hid the world from Lily.
Clara frowned.
“What does that mean?”
Eleanor answered.
“Lily has a memory.”
“She's six.”
“She remembers things from before she was born.”
Clara stared at her.
“That makes no sense.”
Eleanor sighed.
“Her biological father was involved in an experimental neurological program.”
Liam's expression hardened.
“No.”
Eleanor looked at him.
“Yes.”
She continued.
“Lily was exposed to the research.”
“What research?”
Eleanor didn't answer.
A noise came from the church basement.
Then a little girl's voice echoed.
“Clara?”
Clara turned.
“Lily!”
She ran toward the stairs.
Liam grabbed her.
“Wait.”
But Lily appeared at the bottom.
Alive.
Unharmed.
Smiling.
“Clara!”
Clara rushed down and hugged her.
Lily buried her face in Clara's chest.
“You came.”
Clara cried.
“Yes.”
Then Lily whispered.
“There's a bad man outside.”
Clara looked up.
“Marcus?”
Lily shook her head.
“No.”
She pointed toward Liam.
“The bad man is looking for him.”
Everyone froze.
Liam's face turned cold.
“Who told you that?”
May you like
Lily looked at him.
“The man in my dreams.”
Related Stories
