Chapter 13: The Night Sarah Died
“I remember everything now.”
Lily's words silenced the vault.
I stared at her.
“What do you remember?”
She looked at me.
“The night Mommy died.”
My chest tightened.
“Tell me.”
She closed her eyes.
“I was there.”
Mara immediately shook her head.
“No. You were too young.”
Lily looked at her.
“I was there.”
“How?”
“I remember.”
The monitors around us flickered.
The countdown continued.
27:41
27:40
27:39
Alexander stepped toward Lily.
“Let her speak.”
Mara looked at him.
“You know what happens if she remembers too much.”
“I know.”
“She could lose herself.”
Alexander's expression hardened.
“She'll lose herself if we don't stop Blackbird.”
I knelt beside Lily.
“Tell me what you saw.”
She took a shaky breath.
“Mommy was running.”
“Where?”
“Through the house.”
“Our house?”
She nodded.
“It was raining.”
I remembered that night.
The storm.
The ambulance.
The phone call.
The moment I was told Sarah had died.
Lily continued.
“Mommy was carrying me.”
“She took me downstairs.”
“To the hidden room.”
I looked at the floor.
“The vault?”
“No.”
She shook her head.
“Another room.”
“Where?”
“Under the nursery.”
My heart stopped.
“The room we found?”
“No.”
“Then where?”
She pointed toward the wall.
“There was another door.”
Robert immediately moved toward it.
He searched the wall.
Nothing.
Lily walked over.
She placed her hand against the stone.
A hidden panel opened.
Behind it was a narrow passage.
Alexander stared.
“I never knew this existed.”
Lily looked at him.
“Mommy built it.”
Mara whispered:
“Sarah?”
Lily nodded.
“She said nobody could know.”
We entered.
The passage was barely wide enough for one person.
The walls were covered with photographs.
Sarah.
Me.
Lily.
Victor.
My father.
Alexander.
And someone else.
A man whose face had been scratched out.
I stopped.
“Who is that?”
Lily stared at the photograph.
“I know him.”
“Who?”
She touched the damaged face.
“The man who came after Mommy.”
I looked closer.
The photograph showed him standing beside Sarah.
He was holding a newborn Lily.
And on his wrist was the Blackbird symbol.
Robert stared at it.
“That can't be.”
“What?”
He pointed toward the man's face.
“That tattoo.”
“What about it?”
“It belongs to the founder.”
I looked at Alexander.
He nodded.
“Blackbird had a founder before me.”
“Who?”
Alexander's face became grim.
“I never knew his identity.”
Lily whispered:
“I do.”
We all turned.
She pointed toward the photograph.
“He called Mommy by another name.”
“What name?”
Lily closed her eyes.
Then said:
“Elias.”
The lights suddenly flickered.
The countdown continued.
19:03
19:02
I felt the pressure closing around us.
“Where is the original command?”
Lily pointed ahead.
“At the end.”
We followed.
The passage opened into a circular chamber.
In the center stood an old chair.
The same chair from the memory room.
But this one was surrounded by wires.
A screen appeared.
BLACKBIRD MEMORY ACCESS
Lily walked toward the chair.
I grabbed her hand.
“No.”
She looked at me.
“If I don't do this, everyone dies.”
“I'll find another way.”
“There isn't one.”
“How do you know?”
“Because Mommy told me.”
Mara stepped forward.
“What did she tell you?”
Lily looked at her.
“She said Daddy would try to save me.”
Mara's eyes filled with tears.
“She knew.”
“Yes.”
“She knew you would come here?”
Lily nodded.
“She knew everything.”
I stared at the chair.
“What happens if she sits there?”
Alexander answered.
“She'll enter the memory.”
“And?”
“She may not come back.”
I looked at Lily.
“No.”
She squeezed my hand.
“I have to.”
“You're seven.”
“I know.”
“You shouldn't have to do this.”
She smiled sadly.
“Neither should you.”
Then she climbed into the chair.
The machine activated.
Lights surrounded her head.
I held her hand.
“Lily.”
She looked at me.
“If you forget me…”
“I won't.”
“You don't know that.”
She smiled.
“Daddy.”
“What?”
“I remember the steak.”
I laughed despite myself.
“The burnt one?”
She nodded.
“You made them pay.”
I smiled.
“Damn right.”
Her eyes closed.
The machine began humming.
The screen changed.
MEMORY SEQUENCE: NIGHT OF SARAH'S DEATH
I watched.
The image appeared.
Rain.
The old house.
Sarah running through the hallway.
She was holding Lily.
A younger version of me stood in the dining room.
Confused.
Drugged.
Unable to move.
Sarah screamed:
“Daniel!”
I watched myself turn.
She ran toward me.
Then my father appeared behind her.
He held a gun.
Sarah pushed Lily into my arms.
“Take her!”
My younger self caught the baby.
“What are you doing?”
“Protect her!”
My father raised the gun.
Sarah stood between us.
“Please.”
He fired.
I watched Sarah fall.
But she wasn't dead.
She crawled toward me.
My younger self tried to help.
Then another man entered.
The man from the photograph.
Elias.
He walked calmly into the room.
He looked at my father.
“You failed.”
My father lowered his weapon.
“She was supposed to die.”
Elias looked at Lily.
“She is more valuable alive.”
He reached for her.
Sarah grabbed his leg.
“Don't touch my daughter!”
Elias kicked her aside.
My younger self screamed.
Then Elias looked at me.
“You'll forget this.”
He raised a device.
A bright light filled the screen.
The memory distorted.
I suddenly understood.
That was the moment my memories had been erased.
But the video continued.
Sarah wasn't dead.
After the memory procedure, Elias carried Lily away.
But someone stopped him.
My mother.
Mara.
She appeared from the hallway.
She attacked Elias.
The baby fell.
Mara grabbed Lily.
Then she ran.
Elias shouted after her.
“You can't hide her forever!”
Mara disappeared into the rain.
The screen went black.
Then another memory appeared.
Three years later.
Sarah was alive.
She was sitting in the hidden room.
She looked directly into the camera.
“Daniel, if you're watching this, I've already failed.”
She wiped her eyes.
“I couldn't save Lily.”
A pause.
“So I did the only thing I could.”
She leaned closer.
“I became the enemy.”
The screen flickered.
“I infiltrated Blackbird.”
“I learned how it works.”
“And I found the original command.”
The words appeared on the screen:
BLACKBIRD ORIGINAL COMMAND
Sarah whispered:
“The command isn't stored in Lily.”
I stared.
“What?”
She continued.
“It's stored in the person who gave it.”
A name appeared.
ELIAS KANE
My heart stopped.
Sarah looked into the camera.
“Elias Kane is the founder of Blackbird.”
“Victor only controls the network.”
“Alexander only built the memory system.”
“But Elias…”
She paused.
“Elias wrote the first command.”
The screen went black.
Then Lily screamed.
Her body jerked violently.
The machine alarms started.
“LILY!”
I grabbed her.
Her eyes opened.
But they were completely black.
She looked at me.
Then whispered:
“Daddy…”
I held her.
“I'm here.”
She smiled.
“He's here.”
“Who?”
Her expression changed.
Fear appeared in her eyes.
“Elias.”
The chamber door suddenly slammed shut.
A voice came through the speakers.
“Very good.”
I froze.
The voice continued.
“You found my name.”
Mara stepped backward.
“No.”
Robert raised his weapon.
“Show yourself.”
The voice laughed.
“You don't need to see me.”
The screen turned on.
A live video appeared.
A man sat in a dark room.
His face remained hidden.
But his hands were visible.
One finger tapped against the table.
Slowly.
Rhythmically.
Then he spoke.
“Daniel Morgan.”
I stared.
“How do you know me?”
“I've known you since you were born.”
“Where are you?”
“Closer than you think.”
The screen shifted.
A camera view appeared.
It showed the old estate.
Then the cemetery.
Then the road outside.
Then the room where we were standing.
I looked around.
A camera was hidden above us.
The voice continued:
“You have twelve minutes.”
“For what?”
“To choose.”
“What choice?”
“Save the world…”
A pause.
“Or save Lily.”
The screen split in two.
One side showed cities across the country.
The other showed Lily.
A red countdown appeared.
12:00
Then Elias spoke:
“Disconnect her from Blackbird…”
“and every target activates.”
“Keep her connected…”
“and she becomes mine.”
I stared at the screen.
“No.”
Elias laughed.
“You still don't understand, Daniel.”
His voice became cold.
“You were never brought into this world to destroy Blackbird.”
The screen showed an old photograph of me as a child.
Beside it was a photograph of Lily.
Then another image appeared.
A wedding photograph.
My wedding.
Sarah standing beside me.
And behind us...
Elias.
I stared.
He had been there.
The entire time.
Then Elias spoke one final sentence.
“You married my daughter.”
The screen went black.
Mara whispered:
“Daniel…”
I couldn't move.
Because I finally understood why Sarah had chosen me.
Why she had entered my life.
Why Lily had been brought into our home.
And why everyone had been lying.
Sarah wasn't simply connected to Blackbird.
She was Elias Kane's daughter.
May you like
And my marriage had never been an accident.
It had been the beginning of the plan.
