CHAPTER 3 THE VOICE IN THE DARK
The rain began just after midnight.
It started as a light tapping against the windshield, barely noticeable beneath the steady rhythm of the tires against the highway.
Amelia sat in the passenger seat.
Richard Mason drove.
Neither of them spoke.
The city disappeared behind them.
Streetlights became fewer.
Buildings gave way to dark fields and wooded roads.
Amelia stared through the windshield, but she wasn't really seeing the road.
She was thinking about one sentence.
Find your mother before they find you.
For twenty-nine years, Amelia had believed Sarah Hayes was dead.
She had mourned her.
She had visited her grave.
She had carried photographs of her mother through every military posting.
She had blamed herself for forgetting the sound of her voice.
And now she knew the woman she had mourned might still be alive.
The revelation should have filled her with hope.
Instead, it terrified her.
Because her father had spent twenty-nine years protecting that secret.
And someone had just tried to kill her for discovering it.
Richard broke the silence.
"You shouldn't have come."
Amelia looked at him.
"You said my father wanted me to find my mother."
"I said he wanted you to know the truth."
"That's not the same thing."
"No."
Richard tightened his grip on the steering wheel.
"It isn't."
Amelia looked down at the flash drive in her hand.
Small.
Black.
Almost weightless.
Yet it contained the voice of a woman Amelia had believed dead since childhood.
"What happened to Daniel Cross?"
Richard's eyes stayed on the road.
"I don't know."
"You knew him."
"I knew of him."
"That's not what you said at my house."
Richard sighed.
"Daniel was different."
"How?"
"He didn't trust anyone."
"Apparently he had good instincts."
Richard glanced at her.
"Your father trusted him."
"Why?"
"Because Daniel saved his life."
Amelia looked toward the window.
"When?"
"September 17, 1997."
Her birthday.
Again.
Everything returned to that date.
The photograph.
The dog tag.
Project Seventeen.
Her mother's disappearance.
Daniel Cross.
Her birth.
Her father's warning.
"What happened that night?"
Richard's face became grim.
"Your father never told me everything."
"But you know something."
"I know enough."
"Then tell me."
Richard remained silent.
Amelia waited.
Finally, he spoke.
"Your mother was being transported to a secure military facility."
"Why?"
"She had information."
"What information?"
"Evidence."
"Evidence of what?"
Richard's jaw tightened.
"An operation that was never supposed to exist."
Amelia remembered his earlier words.
People weren't being investigated.
They were being replaced.
"Project Seventeen."
Richard nodded.
"Yes."
"Was my mother part of it?"
"No."
"Then why was she being transported?"
"Because she discovered it."
Amelia's stomach tightened.
"How?"
"Daniel told her."
"Why would he trust her?"
"Because Sarah was the only person he believed could get the evidence out."
Amelia stared at him.
"And my father?"
"Thomas was ordered to bring her in."
"Did he?"
"No."
"Why?"
"Because by then, your father knew the orders were corrupt."
Amelia leaned back.
"So my father disobeyed orders."
"Yes."
"He helped my mother escape."
"Yes."
"And Daniel?"
Richard's voice dropped.
"Daniel stayed behind."
Amelia looked at him.
"Why?"
"To make sure they believed Sarah had died."
The rain grew heavier.
Amelia stared at the road ahead.
"That's why the woman buried in the cemetery wasn't my mother."
Richard nodded.
"Thomas needed them to believe she was dead."
"Then whose body was it?"
Richard didn't answer.
Amelia turned sharply.
"Whose body?"
"I don't know."
"You expect me to believe that?"
"I wasn't there."
"But my father was."
"Yes."
"And he never told you?"
"Not the whole story."
Amelia's hands tightened.
"Then what happened to Daniel?"
Richard looked at her.
"He disappeared."
"That doesn't answer the question."
"It is the answer."
"No."
Amelia's voice hardened.
"People don't just disappear."
Richard's eyes returned to the road.
"Sometimes they do."
"Not soldiers."
"Especially soldiers."
They drove another twenty minutes.
The road narrowed.
Trees crowded both sides.
Then Richard turned onto an unmarked dirt road.
Amelia frowned.
"There isn't a road here."
"There is."
"You've been here before."
"Once."
"When?"
"Six months ago."
"Why?"
"Thomas called me."
Amelia looked at him.
"He knew he was going to die?"
"I don't know."
"You're lying."
Richard didn't respond.
They continued through the trees.
After another mile, a small cabin appeared.
It was almost invisible from the road.
Dark wooden walls.
Black roof.
No lights.
No mailbox.
No driveway.
It looked abandoned.
Richard parked behind the building.
He turned off the engine.
Neither moved.
"Is this it?"
Richard nodded.
"Your father called it Shelter Nine."
Amelia looked at the cabin.
"Who knew about it?"
"Thomas."
"Who else?"
"Daniel."
"And you."
Richard nodded.
"Anyone else?"
"No."
Amelia opened the door.
"Then let's hope that's true."
The cabin door opened with a key Richard carried around his neck.
Inside, everything was clean.
Too clean.
There was no dust.
No cobwebs.
No signs of abandonment.
Amelia immediately understood.
Someone had been maintaining the place.
The cabin contained a small kitchen.
A living room.
A bedroom.
A bathroom.
Nothing unusual.
Except for the wall.
One entire wall was covered with photographs.
Amelia stopped.
Her father had been documenting something.
Photographs.
Dates.
Names.
Locations.
Faces.
Military insignias.
She stepped closer.
There were dozens.
Maybe hundreds.
At the center was a large photograph.
Daniel Cross.
Amelia stared.
He was younger than she expected.
Maybe thirty.
Dark hair.
Sharp eyes.
Military uniform.
He stood beside Thomas.
And Sarah.
Amelia's breath caught.
Her mother was smiling.
Her father looked serious.
Daniel stood between them.
The three of them looked like a family.
Amelia touched the photograph.
Her fingers trembled.
"That's my mother."
Richard nodded.
"Yes."
"She knew him."
"Yes."
"She trusted him."
"Yes."
Amelia looked at Daniel.
"Why does my father look like he's afraid?"
Richard didn't answer.
She looked at another photograph.
Daniel was standing beside a black vehicle.
A date was written underneath.
September 16, 1997.
The next photograph showed an empty road.
September 17.
Then another.
A burning military vehicle.
September 18.
Amelia stepped backward.
"What happened?"
Richard's face was pale.
"That was the official story."
"What official story?"
"Daniel died in that vehicle."
"But he didn't."
"No."
"Then who did?"
Richard looked at the photograph.
"That's what your father spent twenty-nine years trying to find out."
Amelia turned toward him.
"You said Daniel saved my father."
"He did."
"How?"
Richard pointed toward a photograph.
"Look."
Amelia leaned closer.
It showed a hospital room.
Thomas lay unconscious in a bed.
A man stood beside him.
Daniel.
The date was September 18, 1997.
Amelia's eyes widened.
"That's after the explosion."
"Yes."
"Then Daniel survived."
"Yes."
"Where did he go?"
Richard shook his head.
"Nobody knows."
Amelia looked around the room.
"Except my father."
"Maybe."
She noticed something on the table.
A laptop.
Old.
But functional.
Beside it was a note.
Her father's handwriting.
For Amelia.
She stared.
Richard whispered:
"Your father knew you'd come."
Amelia walked toward the laptop.
She opened it.
A single folder appeared.
SEPTEMBER 17
She clicked it.
There were three files.
VIDEO 1.
VIDEO 2.
AUDIO.
Amelia clicked AUDIO.
Static filled the room.
Then a woman's voice.
Amelia stopped breathing.
"Thomas?"
Her knees nearly gave out.
Richard looked at her.
The voice continued.
"I don't know if you'll ever hear this."
Amelia's hand went to her mouth.
She knew that voice.
Not from memory.
From dreams.
From old recordings.
From the few videos her father had preserved.
Her mother.
Sarah.
Alive.
Speaking.
Twenty-nine years ago.
"Thomas, if you're hearing this, it means something happened."
Amelia's eyes filled with tears.
She closed them.
Her mother's voice continued.
"Please listen carefully."
Static.
Then:
"Do not come looking for me."
Amelia opened her eyes.
Richard stared at the laptop.
Sarah continued.
"If Amelia ever hears this..."
A long pause.
Her voice trembled.
"...tell her I loved her."
Amelia covered her mouth.
A sob escaped.
Richard looked away.
Sarah continued.
"I didn't leave because I wanted to."
"I left because they told me they would kill her."
Amelia's tears fell freely now.
"They knew about the pregnancy."
She froze.
Pregnancy.
Her mother was pregnant with her.
Sarah continued.
"They knew the baby was connected to Daniel."
Amelia looked at Richard.
He looked stunned.
"What does that mean?" she whispered.
The recording continued.
"Thomas, you were right."
"You were right about Project Seventeen."
"The people behind it aren't trying to protect the Army."
"They are trying to control it."
Static.
Then Sarah whispered:
"Daniel knows who they are."
Amelia leaned toward the laptop.
"And if he fails..."
Sarah's breathing became shaky.
"...they will come for Amelia."
The recording stopped.
Silence.
Amelia stared at the screen.
Then another audio file appeared automatically.
Her father's voice.
Recorded years later.
"Amelia, if you've reached this point, I'm sorry."
She froze.
"There's something I never told you."
His voice sounded older.
Tired.
Afraid.
"Your mother didn't abandon you."
Amelia closed her eyes.
"She chose to disappear because she believed it was the only way to keep you alive."
A pause.
"I hated her for it."
His voice cracked.
"But I understood."
Amelia's chest tightened.
"I spent twenty-nine years looking for her."
A breath.
"I found her once."
Amelia opened her eyes.
Richard stared at the screen.
"Five years ago."
Her father's voice continued.
"She was alive."
Amelia whispered:
"Where?"
But the recording didn't answer.
"Sarah told me something that changed everything."
A pause.
"She said Daniel Cross was not the man we thought he was."
Amelia leaned closer.
"She said he had spent twenty-nine years protecting you."
The recording ended.
Amelia stared at the blank screen.
Richard slowly sat down.
"That wasn't what I expected."
Amelia wiped her tears.
"Where is my mother?"
"I don't know."
"You said my father found her."
"He did."
"Then he must have known where she was."
"He didn't tell me."
"Why?"
Richard looked at the floor.
"Because he didn't trust me."
Amelia went still.
"Why wouldn't he trust you?"
Richard said nothing.
"Richard."
He finally looked up.
"Because I was the one who helped him hide Sarah."
Amelia stared.
"You knew."
"Yes."
"For twenty-nine years?"
"Yes."
"You watched me grow up."
"Yes."
"You watched me believe my mother was dead."
Richard's eyes filled with guilt.
"Yes."
Amelia turned away.
Her voice was barely audible.
"How could you?"
"I was protecting you."
"Everyone keeps saying that."
She turned back.
"My father said it."
"My mother said it."
"You said it."
She shook her head.
"Everyone was protecting me from the truth."
Her voice cracked.
"But nobody protected me from the lie."
Richard looked devastated.
"I know."
"No."
Amelia's eyes hardened.
"You don't."
She walked toward the wall.
Her mother's photograph was still there.
Amelia touched it.
"She was alive."
Richard nodded.
"For how long?"
"We don't know."
"Where did she go?"
"I told you."
"You don't know."
"No."
Amelia looked at him.
"Then who does?"
Richard hesitated.
That hesitation was enough.
"Who?"
"There was someone who delivered messages between Thomas and Sarah."
"Who?"
"I don't know his real name."
"What was he called?"
Richard looked at the photograph of Daniel.
"Cross."
Amelia froze.
"Daniel?"
"No."
Richard shook his head.
"Another man."
"Another man using the name Cross?"
"Yes."
"Why?"
"Because Daniel wasn't the only person connected to Project Seventeen."
Amelia stared at him.
"How many were there?"
"Seventeen."
The room went silent.
Seventeen.
Not a symbol.
Not a date.
A number of people.
"Seventeen soldiers?"
"Not soldiers."
Richard swallowed.
"Families."
Amelia felt a chill.
"Families?"
"Seventeen families were targeted."
"Why?"
"Because each family possessed something the people behind the project wanted."
"What?"
Richard looked toward the black wall of photographs.
"Bloodlines."
Amelia frowned.
"I don't understand."
"You will."
Richard walked toward a locked cabinet.
He removed a key.
Opened it.
Inside were folders.
He took one.
Placed it on the table.
The label read:
HAYES, AMELIA
Amelia stared at her own name.
"What is that?"
"Your father's file."
"I've seen his service records."
"Not these."
Richard opened the folder.
Inside was a birth certificate.
Amelia looked at it.
Her name.
Her birthday.
September 17, 1997.
Then she saw something that made her heart stop.
The name listed under father was not Thomas Hayes.
It wasn't blank.
It wasn't Daniel Cross.
It was another name.
ALEXANDER VALE.
Amelia stared.
"Who is Alexander Vale?"
Richard didn't answer.
"Richard."
His expression changed.
"He's dead."
"When?"
"September 17, 1997."
Amelia's eyes widened.
The same night she was born.
Richard closed the folder.
"We need to leave."
Amelia grabbed it.
"No."
"Amelia."
"Who is Alexander Vale?"
Richard looked toward the window.
"Someone your father spent twenty-nine years trying to convince the world never existed."
Suddenly the lights went out.
The cabin plunged into darkness.
Richard froze.
Amelia immediately drew her weapon.
"Stay behind me."
A faint sound came from outside.
Footsteps.
One.
Two.
Three.
Then silence.
Amelia moved toward the window.
Richard whispered:
"They found us."
Amelia looked at him.
"Who?"
Before he could answer, the front door exploded inward.
Amelia dropped to the floor.
Glass shattered.
A figure entered.
Then another.
Gunfire tore through the cabin.
Amelia fired back.
Richard pulled the table over for cover.
The attackers moved quickly.
Professionally.
No shouting.
No panic.
They knew exactly where to go.
One of them headed straight toward the cabinet.
The files.
Amelia fired.
The man ducked.
Richard shouted:
"The drive!"
Amelia grabbed it.
Another bullet struck the wall inches from her head.
She rolled behind the kitchen counter.
Richard fired twice.
One attacker fell.
The second retreated.
Amelia heard a vehicle outside.
Then silence.
She waited.
Ten seconds.
Twenty.
Nothing.
Richard slowly stood.
The cabin was destroyed.
Broken glass covered the floor.
Smoke drifted through the room.
Amelia looked toward the cabinet.
The folder marked with her name was gone.
Everything else remained.
They hadn't come for the laptop.
They hadn't come for the photographs.
They hadn't come for the weapons.
They had come for her birth records.
Amelia turned toward Richard.
"They knew it was here."
Richard nodded.
"Yes."
"How?"
He didn't answer.
Amelia's expression hardened.
"Someone told them."
Richard looked away.
"Who?"
He remained silent.
Amelia stepped closer.
"Who knew we were coming?"
Richard finally looked at her.
His face was devastated.
"Only three people."
"Who?"
"Me."
"Your father."
"And Daniel."
Amelia's blood ran cold.
Her father was dead.
Which left one possibility.
She whispered:
"Daniel Cross is alive."
Richard didn't answer.
Amelia looked toward the dark forest outside.
For twenty-nine years, Daniel Cross had been a ghost.
Now someone had come looking for the secret of her birth.
Someone knew exactly where they were.
Someone wanted her father's records.
And somewhere in the darkness...
A man who was supposed to have died in 1997 might still be alive.
Amelia tightened her grip on her weapon.
"Find him."
Richard stared at her.
"What?"
"You heard me."
She picked up the photograph of Daniel Cross.
"Find Daniel."
Richard shook his head.
"You don't understand."
Amelia looked at him.
"No."
Her voice was quiet.
"I understand now."
She held up the photograph.
"My father spent twenty-nine years protecting me."
She looked at the shattered door.
"Now I'm going to find out what he was protecting me from."
Outside, hidden among the trees, a distant figure watched the cabin.
He held a phone to his ear.
"They found the recording."
A voice answered.
"Did she hear it?"
"Yes."
"And the birth file?"
"We have it."
A pause.
"Good."
The man looked toward the cabin.
"There's one problem."
"What?"
"She knows Daniel Cross is alive."
Silence.
Then the voice on the phone became colder.
"Then Daniel has to disappear again."
The man hesitated.
"And Amelia?"
The answer came immediately.
"No."
A pause.
"Amelia doesn't disappear."
"Then what do we do?"
The voice answered:
"Bring her to us."
The call ended.
The figure disappeared into the trees.
And inside the ruined cabin, Amelia stared at the photograph of a man who had supposedly died twenty-nine years ago.
She didn't know where Daniel Cross was.
She didn't know who Alexander Vale was.
She didn't know why her birth had been connected to a secret military operation.
She didn't know where her mother was.
But she finally understood one thing.
Her father's death hadn't ended the secrets.
May you like
It had opened them.
And somewhere in the darkness, someone was already waiting for her to uncover the truth.
