CHAPTER 8 — THE WOMAN IN THE GLASS ROOM
For several seconds after Reeves confessed, Sarah couldn't speak.
The house seemed to shrink around her.
The broken windows let snow drift across the floor.
The fireplace had gone cold.
And the only sound was Lily's frightened breathing.
Sarah stared at Reeves.
"You killed my father."
Reeves nodded.
"Yes."
"You expect me to believe he asked you to?"
"I don't expect you to believe anything."
"Then explain it."
Reeves looked at Mark.
Then Thomas.
Then finally at Sarah.
"Your father knew Black Winter had become impossible to stop from inside the government."
Sarah's jaw tightened.
"So he asked you to murder him?"
"No."
Reeves's voice dropped.
"He asked me to make the world believe he was dead."
Sarah froze.
"What?"
"Your father was going underground."
"Then why did he actually die?"
Reeves looked away.
"Because Mercer found him."
Sarah's eyes filled with tears.
"What happened?"
"He was captured."
Reeves swallowed.
"I tried to get him out."
"And?"
"I failed."
Sarah's voice trembled.
"You killed him."
"I did."
"Why?"
"Because your father begged me to."
Sarah stared.
Reeves continued.
"He knew Mercer was going to interrogate him."
"And?"
"He knew they would eventually force him to reveal where he had hidden the original archive."
Sarah whispered:
"So he asked you to kill him before they could."
Reeves nodded.
"I shot him."
Mark stepped forward.
"And then?"
"I took the archive."
"Where?"
Reeves looked at Sarah.
"Your father had already moved it."
Sarah frowned.
"Where?"
Reeves pointed toward Lily.
"Into her."
Sarah's face went pale.
"No."
"The archive wasn't data anymore."
Thomas looked at Reeves.
"Explain."
"Your father realized a physical archive could be stolen."
Reeves continued.
"A hard drive could be destroyed. A server could be hacked. A document could be burned."
He looked at Lily.
"But a memory inside a living human being was different."
Sarah shook her head.
"You put the archive inside my daughter?"
"No."
Reeves looked directly at her.
"Your father did."
Sarah pulled Lily behind her.
"When?"
"Before she was born."
Sarah stared.
Reeves continued.
"He transferred fragments of the archive into Elena."
Sarah's eyes widened.
"Then Elena transferred them to Lily."
Thomas suddenly understood.
"That's why Elena was the carrier."
Reeves nodded.
"The information passed through the family."
Sarah whispered:
"Like inheritance."
"Not exactly."
"Then what?"
"Memory imprinting."
Sarah looked at Lily.
"She doesn't know she has it."
"She knows pieces."
Sarah remembered Lily saying she could feel her grandmother.
"That's why she remembers Elena."
Reeves nodded.
"And why she remembers the red room."
Sarah closed her eyes.
Her daughter's memories weren't dreams.
They were fragments of Elena's life.
Fragments of the archive.
Fragments of the truth.
Sarah opened her eyes.
"Then why does Mercer need Lily?"
Reeves answered:
"Because he needs the complete sequence."
"And he thinks she has it."
"She does."
Sarah shook her head.
"No."
Reeves looked at her.
"Sarah, the archive contains more than evidence."
"What else?"
"The names of every person involved."
Sarah froze.
"Everyone?"
"Scientists. Officers. Politicians. Contractors."
He paused.
"Judges."
Sarah's eyes widened.
"Judges?"
"Doctors."
"Businessmen."
"Foreign intelligence."
Thomas stared at him.
"How deep does it go?"
Reeves answered:
"Deep enough to collapse governments."
The room went silent.
Mark looked toward the window.
"We have to leave."
Sarah nodded.
"To the mountains."
Reeves shook his head.
"Not yet."
Sarah looked at him.
"My mother is there."
"I know."
"Then we're going."
"No."
Sarah's expression hardened.
"You don't get to tell me where I can go."
"Mercer wants you to go there."
"Why?"
"Because the facility is a trap."
Sarah stepped toward him.
"My mother is alive."
"And Mercer knows that."
"He showed me."
"Exactly."
Reeves pointed toward the screen.
"He wanted you to see her."
Sarah stared.
"Why?"
"Because he needs you."
"For what?"
"To unlock Elena's memories."
Sarah's stomach tightened.
"But I don't know how."
Reeves nodded.
"You don't."
He looked at Lily.
"She does."
Sarah immediately moved between them.
"Stay away from my daughter."
Reeves raised both hands.
"I'm not talking about hurting her."
"Then what?"
"She can trigger Elena's memories."
Sarah frowned.
"How?"
"Emotion."
Thomas nodded slowly.
"He's right."
Sarah looked at him.
Thomas explained:
"Memory transfer isn't like opening a computer file."
"Then what is it?"
"It depends on association."
Sarah stared.
"Association?"
"A smell."
"A sound."
"A face."
"A place."
Thomas pointed toward Lily.
"If Elena's memories were transferred into her nervous system, certain emotional triggers could activate them."
Sarah looked at Lily.
"And Mercer wants me to trigger them."
"Yes."
"Why?"
"Because he can't access Lily's memories directly."
Sarah understood.
"He needs me."
Reeves nodded.
"Because you are Elena's daughter."
Sarah's expression hardened.
"Then we don't go."
Reeves looked at her.
"We have to."
"Why?"
"Because Elena isn't only being held hostage."
Sarah frowned.
"What else?"
Reeves's voice became quiet.
"She's dying."
Sarah stopped breathing.
"What?"
"Her body has been deteriorating for years."
Thomas looked at Reeves.
"From the experiments?"
"Yes."
"How long?"
"Not long."
Sarah's eyes filled with tears.
"How long?"
Reeves hesitated.
"Days."
Sarah turned away.
Her hand covered her mouth.
Lily looked up.
"Mommy?"
Sarah knelt.
"I'm okay."
Lily shook her head.
"No."
"What?"
"You're sad."
Sarah hugged her.
"I'm just worried about Grandma."
Lily whispered:
"Grandma wants to come home."
Sarah's heart broke.
"She will."
Lily looked at her.
"She said that too."
Sarah froze.
"When?"
Lily stared toward the broken window.
"Before."
"Before what?"
"Before the man took her away."
Sarah's blood ran cold.
"What man?"
Lily frowned.
"The one with the silver eyes."
Reeves stiffened.
"What did you say?"
"The man with silver eyes."
Thomas looked at Reeves.
"You know him?"
Reeves nodded.
"Adrian Keller."
Sarah's stomach dropped.
"The scientist."
"Yes."
"He's there?"
"He's the one who controls the facility."
Sarah looked toward the mountains.
"Then we're going."
Mark shook his head.
"Not without a plan."
Sarah turned.
"What's the plan?"
Reeves took out a folded map.
He spread it across the table.
The mountain facility was marked with red circles.
"Black Winter has three security rings."
He pointed.
"Outer perimeter."
"Surveillance zone."
"Inner facility."
"And Elena?"
"Level four."
Thomas frowned.
"Level four is underground."
"Correct."
Mark studied the map.
"How do we get inside?"
Reeves pointed toward the eastern side.
"There's an old maintenance tunnel."
"Still accessible?"
"Yes."
"How do you know?"
Reeves looked at Mark.
"Because I used it to escape."
Mark's expression changed.
"You're the one who escaped with me."
Reeves nodded.
"The night you disappeared."
Sarah stared.
"You knew Mark?"
"For years."
Mark looked at him.
"You were there."
"Yes."
"Why didn't you tell Sarah?"
"Because I couldn't."
Mark's jaw tightened.
"You watched them take me."
"I tried to stop them."
"You failed."
Reeves lowered his eyes.
"Yes."
Mark stepped closer.
"You let me believe I was alone."
"You weren't."
"You knew I was alive."
"I did."
"For two years."
"I was protecting you."
Mark laughed bitterly.
"By letting my sister bury me?"
Reeves didn't answer.
Sarah stepped between them.
"Enough."
She looked at Reeves.
"You said the facility has three rings."
"Yes."
"What happens if we get caught?"
"They'll kill Mark."
Sarah stared.
"Why Mark?"
"Because they think he's carrying another copy of the archive."
Mark frowned.
"I'm not."
"They don't know that."
Sarah understood.
"They think you and Lily are connected."
Reeves nodded.
"And that makes Mark useful."
Sarah looked at her brother.
"They'll use him to force Lily to cooperate."
"Exactly."
Sarah looked at Lily.
Her daughter was quietly playing with the zipper on her yellow parka.
She had no idea how much danger surrounded her.
Sarah made a decision.
"We leave tonight."
Mark nodded.
Thomas gathered medical supplies.
Reeves folded the map.
Then—
A phone rang.
Everyone froze.
Sarah looked at the table.
It wasn't her phone.
It was Reeves's.
He stared at the screen.
Unknown number.
He answered.
"Hello?"
No one spoke.
Then a distorted voice said:
"Daniel."
Reeves's face changed.
"What do you want?"
The voice replied:
"We have your daughter."
Reeves froze.
Sarah stared.
"Your daughter?"
The voice continued:
"You have ten minutes."
Reeves's hands trembled.
"Don't touch her."
"Then bring Sarah."
Reeves looked at Sarah.
She understood immediately.
"Who is it?"
Reeves couldn't answer.
The voice came through the speaker.
"Tell Sarah her daughter is waiting."
Sarah's heart stopped.
She looked at Lily.
Her daughter was standing right beside her.
"Who are they talking about?"
Reeves whispered:
"My daughter."
Sarah stared.
"You have a daughter?"
Reeves nodded.
"They took her six years ago."
"How old?"
"Seven."
Sarah's eyes widened.
Seven.
The same age as Lily.
She looked at Reeves.
"What's her name?"
Reeves's lips trembled.
"Emma."
The voice returned.
"Ten minutes."
Then the call ended.
Sarah stared at Reeves.
"Is she at the facility?"
"I don't know."
"Then how do you know she's alive?"
"I don't."
Sarah's heart tightened.
"But they do."
Mark stepped forward.
"It's a trap."
Reeves nodded.
"Of course it is."
Sarah looked at him.
"But they know you'll come."
Reeves nodded.
"Yes."
"Then we're using their trap."
He looked at her.
"What?"
"We go to the facility."
Mark stared.
"Sarah—"
"We go in through the maintenance tunnel."
She looked at Reeves.
"We rescue Elena."
Then at Mark.
"We rescue Emma."
Then she looked at Lily.
"And we get the archive."
Thomas nodded slowly.
"And then?"
Sarah's voice became firm.
"Then we destroy Black Winter."
Nobody argued.
They prepared quickly.
Mark changed his bandage.
Thomas loaded medical supplies.
Reeves checked his weapons.
Sarah dressed Lily in a heavier coat.
Before leaving, Sarah walked through the house one final time.
The place where she had raised her daughter.
The place where she had believed she was safe.
She stopped in her childhood bedroom.
The music box still sat open.
She touched it.
The melody played softly.
And suddenly—
a memory returned.
Her mother.
Elena.
Holding baby Daniel.
Then baby Lily.
Standing in the same room.
Sarah remembered Elena whispering:
"If anything happens to me, protect both children."
Sarah's eyes filled with tears.
Both children.
Not one.
Both.
Sarah looked toward the doorway.
Daniel was standing there.
He had overheard.
"You remember?"
Sarah nodded.
"My mother had two children."
Daniel looked down.
"And she tried to save both."
Sarah approached him.
"Did she love you?"
Daniel's eyes filled with tears.
"She came back for me."
Sarah stopped.
"What?"
"They told me she abandoned me."
He shook his head.
"She didn't."
"What happened?"
Daniel looked toward the window.
"She came to the facility."
"When?"
"Three years ago."
Sarah's heart pounded.
"Why?"
"To get me out."
"Did she?"
Daniel shook his head.
"They caught her."
Sarah whispered:
"And then?"
"They put her in the glass room."
Sarah's eyes filled with tears.
"She has been there ever since."
Daniel looked at Lily.
"Until tonight."
Lily approached him.
"Are you coming with us?"
Daniel smiled.
"Yes."
"To save Grandma?"
"Yes."
Lily held out her hand.
Daniel took it.
Sarah watched them.
For the first time, the two stolen children were standing together.
Brother and sister.
Separated by Black Winter.
Reunited by memory.
Sarah wiped her tears.
"Let's go."
They stepped outside.
Snow covered the road.
The SUV waited.
As they drove toward the mountains, Sarah looked through the rear window.
Her house became smaller.
Then disappeared.
She didn't know if she would ever see it again.
Hours later, the mountains appeared.
Dark against the night sky.
Thomas pointed ahead.
"There."
A single light burned on the mountain.
Then another.
Then dozens.
The Black Winter facility.
Mark looked at the map.
"We're close."
Reeves checked his watch.
"Four minutes."
Sarah looked at him.
"Until what?"
"Until they kill Emma."
Sarah's blood ran cold.
"Then drive faster."
The SUV accelerated.
Snow exploded behind the tires.
They reached the maintenance road.
Thomas turned off the headlights.
They continued in darkness.
Then—
A laser appeared on the windshield.
Another.
Then five more.
Mark shouted:
"DOWN!"
Gunfire erupted.
The windshield shattered.
The SUV swerved.
Thomas fought the steering wheel.
Sarah pulled Lily to the floor.
Daniel covered her.
Reeves fired through the broken window.
The SUV crashed through a barrier.
Metal screamed.
They slid toward the edge of the mountain.
Sarah screamed.
Thomas turned the wheel.
The vehicle stopped inches from the cliff.
Silence.
Everyone breathed heavily.
Then a voice came through the radio.
"Welcome home, Sarah."
She recognized it.
Miriam Voss.
"Your mother is waiting."
Sarah stared at the radio.
Voss continued:
"But you should know something before you enter."
Sarah said nothing.
"Your father wasn't trying to cure you."
Sarah's heart stopped.
"He was trying to make you remember."
Sarah frowned.
"Remember what?"
Voss laughed softly.
"The night you killed your mother."
Sarah's blood ran cold.
"No."
Voss continued:
"And your brother remembers it too."
Sarah looked at Daniel.
He had gone completely pale.
"That's why your father erased you."
Sarah stared at her son.
Daniel whispered:
"She's lying."
Voss laughed.
"Am I?"
The radio went silent.
Sarah looked at Daniel.
"What is she talking about?"
Daniel couldn't meet her eyes.
"Sarah..."
"What happened that night?"
He remained silent.
"Daniel."
His eyes filled with tears.
"You were there."
Sarah's voice trembled.
"What did I do?"
Daniel whispered:
"You killed the woman who gave birth to us."
Sarah froze.
The world seemed to disappear.
Her mother.
Her father.
Her brothers.
Lily.
Everything she believed about her childhood shattered again.
Then Lily suddenly began crying.
Sarah turned.
"What's wrong?"
Lily looked toward the mountain facility.
"Grandma is screaming."
Sarah's blood turned to ice.
"What?"
Lily covered her ears.
"She's screaming for you."
Sarah looked toward the mountain.
The facility lights suddenly went dark.
All of them.
Then one enormous red light appeared above the entrance.
A message appeared on a distant screen:
SUBJECT ZERO RETURNS.
Sarah stared.
She didn't understand.
Then Daniel whispered:
"They're not waiting for Lily."
He looked at Sarah.
"They're waiting for you."
Sarah stepped out of the damaged SUV.
Snow fell around her.
She stared up at the facility.
For seven years, she had believed she was the victim.
Now she feared something much worse.
May you like
Maybe she hadn't merely forgotten what happened in the red room.
Maybe she had forgotten what she herself had done.
