Chapter 17 - Sub-Level 4
Clara took the private executive elevator down past the parking garages into the deep foundations of the building.
The doors chimed and slid open to reveal a clinical, white-walled medical laboratory guarded by two federal agents.
Inside a glass-walled isolation room sat Eleanor Vance, connected to advanced monitoring equipment.
Clara pressed her hands against the glass, tears brimming in her eyes as her mother turned her head slowly.
"Mom?" Clara whispered, her voice cracking with deep emotional pain.
Eleanor lifted a weak hand, tapping against the glass wall while pointing toward Arthur, who had followed Clara down.
"She has been in protective custody here for six months, Clara," Arthur explained quietly from behind her.
"Senator Sterling poisoned her to steal her naval tech patents... we had to fake her death to keep her breathing," Arthur revealed.
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Clara turned around, looking at the patriarch with a mix of shock, guilt, and lingering suspicion.
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