CHAPTER 5 — THE WOMAN BEHIND THE GLASS
Someone screamed.
Henry moved before he could think.
“AMELIA!”
His voice tore through the darkness.
Thomas grabbed his shoulder.
“Wait!”
Henry pulled free.
“Get your hands off me.”
“It's a trap.”
“I know.”
“Then don't walk into it.”
Henry stopped.
For one second, the darkness swallowed everything.
No lights.
No footsteps.
No voice.
Only the sound of Henry breathing.
Then something metallic struck the floor.
Clang.
Henry turned toward the sound.
A tiny red light appeared.
Then another.
Emergency lights flickered on along the walls.
One by one.
The corridor slowly came back into view.
The man in the gray coat was gone.
So was the pendant.
Henry looked down.
His hand was empty.
Thomas stared at him.
“He took it.”
Henry's eyes hardened.
“He wanted us to think he did.”
“What?”
Henry pointed toward the floor.
A small metal device lay beneath the pipe.
Thomas crouched.
“Another transmitter.”
Henry nodded.
“He planted it.”
Thomas picked it up.
“Then the pendant was never the tracker.”
“No.”
Henry looked toward the elevator.
“It was the key.”
Thomas stood.
“To what?”
Henry didn't answer.
He walked toward the elevator.
The doors opened automatically.
Inside, the control panel was dark.
Except for one button.
7
Henry pressed it.
The elevator began rising.
Thomas stepped beside him.
“You believe that man?”
Henry stared at the closing doors.
“He said Amelia is alive.”
“That doesn't mean it's true.”
“I know.”
“What if it's another psychological game?”
Henry's jaw tightened.
“Then I'll find out.”
The elevator rose.
Four floors.
Five.
Six.
Then stopped.
The doors opened.
Henry stepped out.
Thomas followed.
They were standing in the same corridor.
Room 714 was twenty feet away.
But something had changed.
The door was open.
Henry stared at it.
Thomas whispered,
“Didn't we lock that?”
“Yes.”
“Then someone opened it.”
Henry slowly approached.
He pushed the door wider.
The room was empty.
The monitors were gone.
The tape recorder was gone.
Even the chairs had disappeared.
Everything had been stripped away.
Except one thing.
A woman sat behind the glass wall.
Henry froze.
Her back was facing him.
Long dark hair.
Gray sweater.
Thin shoulders.
She sat perfectly still.
Henry's heart began pounding.
“Amelia?”
The woman slowly turned.
Henry stopped breathing.
She was older.
Much older than the woman in his memories.
There were lines around her eyes.
Silver strands ran through her dark hair.
But the eyes were the same.
The same green eyes.
The same eyes that had once looked at him across a kitchen table.
The same eyes that had made him believe the world was safe.
Henry stepped toward the glass.
“Amelia.”
The woman stood.
She placed one hand against the glass.
Henry lifted his own hand.
Their palms met through the barrier.
For a moment, neither moved.
Henry's eyes filled with tears.
“You're alive.”
Amelia nodded.
“I told you I would be.”
His voice broke.
“I thought you were dead.”
“I know.”
“Why?”
Amelia looked down.
“Because that's what they wanted you to believe.”
Henry shook his head.
“You let me mourn you.”
“I had no choice.”
“You always had a choice.”
Amelia closed her eyes.
“I was trying to keep you alive.”
“You disappeared.”
“I was taken.”
“You could have escaped.”
“I did.”
Henry frowned.
“When?”
“Three times.”
“And they brought you back?”
Amelia shook her head.
“No.”
She looked directly into his eyes.
“I went back.”
Henry stared.
“Why?”
“Because every time I tried to leave, someone else died.”
Silence.
Henry lowered his hand.
“Who?”
Amelia looked away.
“People you loved.”
Henry's face tightened.
“My brother?”
Amelia nodded.
“Daniel.”
“He's alive.”
“I know.”
“You knew?”
“Yes.”
“Why didn't you tell me?”
“Because Daniel wasn't supposed to survive.”
Henry stared at her.
“What happened?”
Amelia turned toward the room behind her.
“They used him.”
“For what?”
“He became the only person who could access Atlas.”
Henry's eyes narrowed.
“Atlas.”
Amelia nodded.
“Your father's second organization.”
“What is Atlas?”
Amelia took a breath.
“It's not an organization.”
“What is it?”
“A network.”
“Doing what?”
“Controlling the people who control everything else.”
Henry stared at her.
“How deep?”
“Deeper than Blackridge.”
“How deep?”
Amelia looked directly at him.
“Your father wasn't the leader.”
Henry's expression changed.
“Then who was?”
Amelia didn't answer.
A speaker clicked on.
The man in the gray coat spoke.
“You're wasting time.”
Henry turned toward the ceiling.
“Show yourself.”
The man laughed.
“Not yet.”
Amelia stepped closer to the glass.
“Henry, listen to me.”
He looked at her.
“They brought Emily here because they need something from her.”
“What?”
“Her blood.”
Henry's face hardened.
“Why?”
“Because she carries something your father spent twenty years trying to create.”
Henry stared.
“What?”
“A genetic key.”
Thomas stepped forward.
“What does that mean?”
Amelia looked at him.
“It means Emily can unlock the Atlas archive.”
Henry's voice became cold.
“Where is she?”
Amelia hesitated.
“I don't know.”
Henry's expression changed.
“You don't know?”
“They moved her before they brought me here.”
“Where?”
“I don't know.”
Henry slammed his fist against the glass.
“Then what do you know?”
Amelia didn't flinch.
“I know where they're going.”
“Where?”
“The old observatory.”
Henry frowned.
“North Ridge?”
Amelia nodded.
“It's beneath the observatory.”
Thomas looked at Henry.
“That's twenty miles north.”
Amelia continued.
“They're taking Emily there because the archive is underground.”
Henry looked at the glass.
“How do we get in?”
Amelia's expression changed.
“You already have the key.”
Henry looked at his empty hand.
“The pendant?”
“No.”
She touched her chest.
“You.”
Henry didn't understand.
Amelia smiled sadly.
“Your father didn't build the system around Emily.”
“He built it around me.”
“Yes.”
Henry stared.
“Why?”
“Because he knew you would eventually come back.”
Henry shook his head.
“My father hated me.”
“No.”
Amelia's voice softened.
“He feared what you would become.”
Henry laughed bitterly.
“What did I become?”
“A man who could destroy everything he built.”
Silence.
Then a loud alarm sounded.
Amelia looked toward the ceiling.
“They know we're talking.”
Henry turned.
“Who?”
“The people upstairs.”
Thomas drew his weapon.
“How many?”
Amelia looked at him.
“Enough.”
Henry looked around.
“Get out of the room.”
“I can't.”
“Why?”
Amelia stepped backward.
The glass wall suddenly illuminated.
A thin red line appeared around her.
Henry's eyes widened.
“Amelia?”
She shook her head.
“Don't come closer.”
“What is that?”
“Containment.”
Henry stared.
“Are you trapped?”
“Yes.”
“How long?”
Amelia looked down.
“Three years.”
Henry went still.
“Three years?”
She nodded.
“They wanted me to tell them where Daniel hid the archive.”
“And you didn't.”
“No.”
“What did they do?”
Amelia looked at him.
“They showed me Emily.”
Henry's face went pale.
“They threatened her.”
“They didn't have to.”
“What do you mean?”
Amelia's eyes filled with tears.
“I knew they would use her against you.”
Henry understood.
“They knew you would break eventually.”
“Yes.”
“But you didn't.”
“No.”
“Why?”
Amelia placed her hand against the glass again.
“Because I knew you would come.”
Henry stepped closer.
“I should have come sooner.”
“You couldn't.”
“I should have looked for you.”
“They made sure you didn't.”
Henry's eyes hardened.
“Who?”
Amelia whispered,
“Your father.”
Henry froze.
“He was alive when you disappeared.”
“Yes.”
“He ordered it.”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
Amelia hesitated.
“Because he discovered something about you.”
“What?”
Before Amelia could answer, the lights went out.
Thomas shouted,
“DOWN!”
Gunfire erupted.
Glass shattered.
Henry dropped.
Amelia screamed.
The containment room filled with smoke.
Henry crawled toward the glass.
“AMELIA!”
No answer.
Thomas fired toward the hallway.
A shadow moved.
Henry grabbed the nearest metal object.
A broken chair leg.
The first attacker entered.
Henry swung.
The man fell.
A second came through.
Thomas stopped him.
The fight became chaotic.
Henry moved through the smoke.
He reached the containment chamber.
The glass was cracked.
Amelia was on the floor.
Henry pressed his hand against the barrier.
“Amelia!”
Her eyes opened.
“Henry…”
He looked for a door.
There wasn't one.
“How do I get you out?”
She pointed weakly toward the wall.
“Behind you.”
Henry turned.
A small keypad had appeared beneath the emergency panel.
He approached.
There were three numbers.
7-1-4.
Henry entered them.
Nothing.
He tried again.
Nothing.
Amelia whispered,
“Not those.”
Henry looked at her.
“What?”
“The numbers aren't the code.”
“Then what?”
“Your initials.”
Henry stared at the keypad.
A.C.H.
He entered the letters.
The panel turned green.
The glass wall began opening.
Henry rushed forward.
Amelia collapsed into his arms.
For a moment, he simply held her.
He didn't care about the gunfire.
He didn't care about Blackridge.
He didn't care about Atlas.
He had spent twenty-eight years imagining this moment.
And now she was real.
Warm.
Breathing.
Alive.
Amelia pressed her face against his chest.
“I knew you'd come.”
Henry held her tighter.
“I should never have left you.”
“You didn't.”
“I did.”
“You were forced.”
“I still left.”
Amelia pulled away.
“You were protecting Daniel.”
Henry stared at her.
“What?”
“You don't remember.”
“Remember what?”
Amelia touched his face.
“Your father erased part of your memory.”
Henry's expression changed.
“What did he erase?”
“The night you killed him.”
Silence.
Thomas stopped moving.
Henry stared at Amelia.
“I never killed my father.”
Amelia shook her head.
“You did.”
“No.”
“You did.”
“When?”
“The night he tried to kill Emily.”
Henry stepped backward.
“Emily wasn't born.”
“She was.”
Henry shook his head.
“No.”
Amelia's eyes filled with tears.
“She was three months old.”
Henry's breathing became uneven.
“You're saying…”
“You killed your own father to save your daughter.”
Henry stared at the floor.
A memory flashed.
A dark room.
A gun.
A baby crying.
His father's face.
Amelia screaming.
Then nothing.
Henry grabbed his head.
“No…”
Thomas caught him.
“Henry!”
Another memory.
A man's voice.
You don't get to take her.
His own voice.
A gunshot.
Blood.
Then darkness.
Henry opened his eyes.
Amelia was crying.
“What did they do to me?”
“Your father had doctors erase the memory.”
“Why?”
“Because if you remembered, you'd come back.”
“To kill him.”
“To destroy Atlas.”
Henry looked at Amelia.
“Did I kill him?”
“No.”
Henry stared.
“You just said—”
“You shot him.”
“And?”
“He survived.”
Henry froze.
“What?”
Amelia nodded.
“He survived.”
Henry's face went pale.
“He's alive.”
“Yes.”
“Where?”
Amelia looked toward the ceiling.
“North Ridge.”
Henry stared.
“Atlas.”
“Yes.”
Thomas whispered,
“This is impossible.”
Amelia looked at him.
“Nothing about Atlas is impossible.”
Henry turned.
“We have to get Emily.”
Amelia nodded.
“But there's something else.”
“What?”
“Your daughter knows the truth.”
Henry frowned.
“Emily?”
“She remembers things.”
“She was a baby.”
“She was three months old.”
“That isn't possible.”
Amelia looked at him.
“Not memories.”
She paused.
“Patterns.”
Henry didn't understand.
Amelia continued.
“Emily inherited your father's genetic marker.”
“So?”
“So did you.”
Henry stared.
“That's why they need her.”
“Why?”
“Because the Atlas archive doesn't open with a key.”
She looked at Henry.
“It opens with a bloodline.”
A distant explosion shook the building.
Thomas looked toward the corridor.
“They're coming.”
Henry nodded.
“How do we get to North Ridge?”
Amelia looked at him.
“There's an underground train.”
Henry frowned.
“Here?”
“Yes.”
“Where?”
Amelia pointed toward the floor.
“Beneath Room 714.”
Henry looked down.
The floor suddenly opened.
A staircase descended into darkness.
Cold air rose from below.
Thomas stared.
“That's been here the whole time?”
Amelia nodded.
“Atlas built it.”
Henry looked into the darkness.
“Where does it go?”
Amelia answered,
“Straight to North Ridge.”
Henry took one step down.
Then stopped.
“What about Daniel?”
Amelia looked away.
“What?”
“He stayed behind.”
“Why?”
“To stop Atlas.”
“Is he alive?”
Amelia hesitated.
“I don't know.”
Henry's jaw tightened.
“We're getting him too.”
Thomas looked at Henry.
“Henry, if we go down there, there may be no way back.”
Henry looked at Amelia.
Then at Thomas.
Then into the darkness.
“I've spent twenty-eight years running from this place.”
He stepped onto the first stair.
“I'm done running.”
Amelia followed.
Thomas came behind them.
The staircase descended deeper.
Ten steps.
Twenty.
Thirty.
The sounds of the facility disappeared.
At the bottom was an underground platform.
An old black train waited in the darkness.
No driver.
No lights.
Just one glowing destination sign.
NORTH RIDGE — 20 MILES
Henry stared.
Then the train doors opened.
A woman's voice came from the speakers.
“Welcome home, Henry.”
He recognized it.
His mother's voice.
Henry stopped dead.
Amelia looked at him.
“That's impossible.”
The recording continued.
“You have forgotten more than you know.”
Henry stared at the train.
The voice said,
“And before you reach your daughter…”
The lights inside the train turned red.
“…you must remember who you really are.”
The doors closed.
The train began moving.
Henry looked at Amelia.
“What does that mean?”
Amelia's face was pale.
“I don't know.”
But she was lying.
Henry could see it.
She knew.
And whatever she knew was worse than anything they had discovered so far.
Because the woman speaking through the train's speakers had been dead for twenty-two years.
Henry's mother.
And she had just called him by a name he had never heard before.
A name that made Amelia whisper one sentence.
“Henry…”
He turned.
She looked terrified.
“That's not your mother's voice.”
Henry stared at her.
“Then whose is it?”
Amelia slowly shook her head.
“I don't know.”
The train disappeared into the darkness.
And somewhere twenty miles away, Emily opened her eyes.
She was lying in a white room.
A man stood beside her.
The same man in the gray coat.
He placed a hand on the glass.
“Your grandfather is coming.”
Emily looked at him.
“Will he save me?”
The man smiled.
“No.”
He leaned closer.
“He'll remember.”
Emily frowned.
“Remember what?”
May you like
The man's smile disappeared.
“Who he was before they made him Henry Carter.”
