Chapter 16 - Confronting The Mastermind Behind The Six-Year Conspiracy
By dawn, the storm had cleared, leaving a pristine blanket of white snow over the desolate mountain pass.
Nora pulled the sedan into the snow-covered driveway of her sister’s secluded cabin in the Green Mountains.
Inside the warm cabin, Miller patched his arm wound while Lily drank hot cocoa by the crackling stone fireplace.
The laptop Nora had salvaged from Eleanor’s Westchester estate sat open on the rustic pine dining table.
She clicked on a password-protected folder labeled PROJECT VANCE, entering the birth date of her daughter.
The screen flickered, unlocking a video conference log dated just two days before their supermarket encounter.
The video loaded, showing Mark Vance speaking directly to a high-ranking federal judge on a secure encrypted feed.
“The mother is starting to ask questions about the St. Catherine’s files,” Mark said on the recording, looking agitated.
“If she connects the hospital trust to the syndicate accounts, the entire adoption ring goes down.”
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The judge’s voice replied from the speakers: “Then terminate her investigation, Mark... or relocate the child permanently overseas.”
Nora sat frozen, watching the man she once loved casually negotiate the destruction of her life and her daughter's safety.
