CHAPTER 10 — THE HOUSE IN MONTANA
The private jet landed just after midnight.
Snow covered the runway.
Raina looked through the window as the mountains emerged from the darkness.
For some reason, the sight of them made her heart ache.
She had never been to Montana.
At least, she didn't think she had.
But the moment she saw the mountains, something inside her stirred.
A memory.
A red door.
A woman standing beneath a porch light.
A lullaby.
Raina closed her eyes.
The image disappeared.
“Are you all right?”
Clara sat beside her.
“I've been here before.”
Clara's expression changed.
“You've never been here.”
“I know.”
“But I remember this place.”
Clara looked at Orson.
He said nothing.
Raina noticed.
“You know something.”
Orson sighed.
“When you were a child, Elena brought you here once.”
“Why?”
“To hide you.”
“How old was I?”
“Three.”
Raina stared.
“I don't remember.”
“You weren't supposed to.”
“Why?”
“Because Elena had you sedated.”
Raina's eyes widened.
“She drugged me?”
“To protect you.”
“Everyone keeps saying that.”
Orson looked away.
“I know.”
The aircraft door opened.
Cold air rushed inside.
Two security vehicles waited on the runway.
Raina stepped down.
Her pregnancy made every movement slower.
Clara stayed close.
Orson walked ahead.
They drove for almost two hours through the mountains.
No streetlights.
No houses.
Only snow and pine trees.
Then Raina saw it.
A narrow dirt road.
Her heart began racing.
“Stop.”
The driver looked back.
“What?”
“Stop the car.”
Orson frowned.
“Why?”
Raina stared through the windshield.
“That road.”
She pointed.
“I know it.”
Orson's face changed.
“You can't.”
“I do.”
Clara looked at her.
“Raina…”
“I know that road.”
The driver stopped.
Raina stepped outside.
Snow crunched beneath her boots.
She walked toward the road.
A strange warmth spread through her chest.
She could see the red door in her mind.
The woman.
The crib.
The lullaby.
Then she whispered,
“She's here.”
Orson stepped beside her.
“Who?”
“My mother.”
He froze.
Raina turned.
“I remember her.”
Orson's face went pale.
“What do you remember?”
“She was singing.”
“What song?”
Raina closed her eyes.
A melody surfaced.
Slow.
Gentle.
Beautiful.
She hummed it.
Orson nearly collapsed.
Clara stared at him.
“You know that song.”
Orson nodded.
“Elena wrote it.”
Raina opened her eyes.
“She sang it to me.”
Orson whispered,
“You shouldn't remember.”
“But I do.”
They continued down the road.
Twenty minutes later, the trees opened.
A wooden house stood at the edge of a frozen lake.
A red front door.
Raina stopped breathing.
“This is it.”
Orson stared at the house.
“I haven't seen this place in twenty-seven years.”
Clara whispered,
“Someone has been living here.”
There was smoke coming from the chimney.
A light glowed in one window.
Raina stepped forward.
Then the front door opened.
An elderly woman appeared.
She held a rifle.
“Stop.”
Security guards immediately moved forward.
Raina raised her hand.
“Wait.”
The woman stared at her.
Her rifle slowly lowered.
She looked at Raina's face.
Then whispered,
“Elena?”
Raina shook her head.
“No.”
The woman stared.
Then tears filled her eyes.
“You're her daughter.”
Raina's heart pounded.
“Who are you?”
The woman lowered the rifle completely.
“My name is Margaret.”
“Did you know my mother?”
Margaret looked at Orson.
“I knew Elena.”
Raina stepped closer.
“Is she alive?”
Margaret's face changed.
“I don't know.”
Raina's heart sank.
“You don't know?”
“She left twenty-seven years ago.”
“Where?”
“She said she had to find someone.”
“Who?”
Margaret looked directly at Raina.
“You.”
Raina froze.
“But I was a baby.”
Margaret nodded.
“She said you were the only person who could finish what she started.”
“What did she start?”
Margaret opened the door wider.
“Come inside.”
The house smelled exactly like the memory.
Raina stopped in the hallway.
A wooden rocking chair.
A small table.
A faded photograph.
And on the wall—
a framed piece of paper.
Raina approached it.
It was a child's drawing.
Two girls holding hands.
Underneath were three words.
RAIN AND CLARA.
Raina's eyes filled with tears.
“We were here.”
Clara stared at the drawing.
“I don't remember.”
Margaret shook her head.
“You weren't both here.”
Raina turned.
“What?”
Margaret looked at Clara.
“You were never brought here.”
Clara's expression changed.
“Then why is my name there?”
“Because Elena was planning to bring you.”
Raina stared.
“When?”
“The night she died.”
Silence.
Margaret walked toward a cabinet.
She opened a hidden compartment.
Inside was a videotape.
Raina frowned.
“What is that?”
“Elena left it.”
“For me?”
“Yes.”
Margaret inserted it into an old player.
The screen flickered.
A woman appeared.
Raina stopped breathing.
Elena.
Her mother.
Young.
Tired.
Holding a newborn baby.
Raina's eyes filled with tears.
The woman on the screen looked directly into the camera.
“If you're watching this, then I failed to keep you hidden.”
Raina covered her mouth.
Elena continued.
“Raina, I need you to know something.”
She smiled sadly.
“You were never supposed to grow up believing I abandoned you.”
Raina whispered,
“Mom…”
Orson looked away.
Elena continued.
“You were born because someone wanted to create a child who could carry what they couldn't control.”
Raina's blood ran cold.
“But you were not their creation.”
She held the baby closer.
“You were stolen.”
Raina froze.
“Stolen?”
Elena nodded.
“Your biological mother is still alive.”
Raina's heart stopped.
Clara grabbed her hand.
Elena continued.
“She has been hiding because the people who took you are still searching.”
The screen flickered.
Then Elena said the words that changed everything.
“Her name is Sofia Vale.”
Raina stared.
The tape ended.
Nobody moved.
Finally, Raina whispered,
“Sofia Vale.”
Margaret nodded.
“I know that name.”
“Where is she?”
Margaret looked toward the frozen lake.
“She lives on the other side.”
Raina's eyes widened.
“She is here?”
Margaret nodded.
“She has been waiting for you.”
Before anyone could respond, headlights appeared through the trees.
Several vehicles were approaching.
Margaret's expression changed.
“They found you.”
Orson immediately ordered,
“Lights out.”
The house went dark.
Raina's heart raced.
“How?”
Clara looked through the window.
“Someone followed us.”
Orson reached for his weapon.
Then a phone vibrated.
Damon.
Raina stared at the screen.
She answered.
“Where are you?”
Damon's voice was barely audible.
“Don't trust Victor.”
Raina froze.
“Why are you calling me?”
“Because I know what he wants.”
“What?”
“The baby.”
Raina's hand moved to her stomach.
Damon continued,
“And I know how to stop him.”
Raina whispered,
“Why should I believe you?”
A pause.
“Because I'm coming to help you.”
The line went dead.
Raina stared at the phone.
Outside, headlights disappeared.
But someone was still watching the house.
And Raina suddenly understood.
May you like
Damon wasn't calling from far away.
He was already in Montana.
