Chapter 23 - THE WOMAN WHO HAD TWO LIVES
Eleanor couldn't look away from the photographs.
Two women.
Same face.
Same eyes.
Same expression.
But different names.
One was labeled MARGARET BENNETT — SUBJECT ZERO.
The other was labeled MARGARET WHITMORE.
Eleanor whispered,
“Which one is my mother?”
The mysterious agent shook his head.
“That's the wrong question.”
“Then what is the right one?”
“Which one raised you?”
Eleanor looked at the second photograph.
Margaret.
The woman who had sat across from her at countless family dinners.
The woman who had humiliated Lily.
The woman who had controlled the Whitmore family.
The woman who had claimed she was protecting them.
Eleanor's stomach twisted.
“You're saying she isn't my mother.”
“No.”
“Then who is she?”
The agent lowered his voice.
“Her name is Rebecca Vale.”
Claire stepped forward.
“Henry's sister.”
The agent nodded.
Eleanor stared.
“But I met Rebecca.”
“No.”
“You're wrong.”
“She died in 1996.”
Eleanor shook her head.
“I saw her.”
“You saw someone using her identity.”
Claire looked at Eleanor.
“That explains everything.”
Eleanor turned.
“What?”
“The woman we've called Margaret wasn't Margaret.”
“Then where is the real Margaret?”
The agent looked toward the ceiling.
“She has been imprisoned for twenty-nine years.”
Eleanor's heart stopped.
“Where?”
“Under the old federal hospital.”
Daniel looked at him.
“Why would the government imprison her?”
“Because she knew who financed the program.”
“Who?”
The agent hesitated.
Then he said,
“The Vale Foundation.”
Eleanor frowned.
“Henry's family.”
“Yes.”
Daniel stepped closer.
“So Henry has been funding this for decades.”
“Not alone.”
The agent opened another file.
Inside were names.
Politicians.
Scientists.
Judges.
Federal officials.
Corporate executives.
Eleanor stared at the list.
“This is half of Washington.”
“Enough of Washington.”
Claire whispered,
“They own the system.”
The agent nodded.
“That's why nobody has stopped them.”
Eleanor looked at Lily.
Her daughter was asleep against her shoulder.
She looked so small.
So innocent.
Eleanor's eyes filled with tears.
“I don't care how powerful they are.”
She closed the file.
“They're not taking my children.”
The agent looked at her.
“Then you need to understand what happens next.”
“What?”
“Henry will make you an offer.”
“Why?”
“Because he knows you have something he needs.”
“What?”
The agent looked at Daniel.
“Your husband's blood.”
Daniel went pale.
Eleanor turned toward him.
“Daniel?”
He looked confused.
“I didn't know.”
The agent continued.
“Daniel isn't simply compatible.”
“What is he?”
“A carrier.”
Claire stared.
“That's impossible.”
“No.”
The agent opened another file.
“His mother was one of the original researchers.”
Daniel froze.
“My mother?”
“She worked with Henry.”
“She died when I was young.”
“She disappeared.”
Daniel shook his head.
“No.”
The agent looked at him.
“Your mother is alive.”
Daniel's face went pale.
“Where?”
The agent looked toward the basement entrance.
Before he could answer, the lights went out.
A deafening alarm began.
Eleanor grabbed Lily.
“What's happening?”
The agent shouted,
“They found us.”
Gunfire erupted above.
Claire pulled Eleanor toward the emergency exit.
Daniel followed.
They ran through a narrow corridor.
The walls shook.
Someone shouted behind them.
Then the lights came back.
A security monitor showed Henry walking through the archive.
Beside him was Emily.
Eleanor stopped.
“Emily.”
Her daughter was alive.
She was holding Henry's hand.
But she wasn't crying.
She was staring directly at the camera.
Then she raised her hand.
She pointed toward the screen.
A message appeared.
DON'T TRUST THE MAN WITH THE BADGE.
Eleanor looked at the agent.
He immediately raised his weapon.
Claire stepped backward.
“Who are you?”
The agent smiled.
Then he removed his face mask.
Eleanor froze.
It was Edward.
Daniel grabbed Eleanor.
“Run!”
Edward laughed.
“You should have known.”
He raised his weapon.
Claire pushed Eleanor aside.
The shot struck Claire in the shoulder.
She fell.
“Claire!”
Eleanor rushed toward her.
Daniel dragged her away.
“We have to move.”
Claire held her wound.
“Go.”
“No.”
“Go!”
Eleanor grabbed her hand.
“I won't leave you.”
Claire looked at her.
“You're my sister.”
Tears filled Eleanor's eyes.
“Then you're coming with us.”
Claire smiled weakly.
“Promise?”
“I promise.”
They ran.
The emergency exit opened into a dark alley.
Sirens echoed through Washington.
Daniel helped Claire into the SUV.
Eleanor climbed in with Lily.
Then she noticed something.
Emily wasn't there.
She looked back.
“Emily!”
The building doors closed.
Henry stood behind the glass.
Emily stood beside him.
Henry smiled.
Eleanor screamed,
“EMILY!”
Emily pressed her hand against the glass.
“Mommy!”
Eleanor tried to run back.
Daniel held her.
“No!”
“Let me go!”
“He'll kill you!”
“I don't care!”
“You have Lily!”
Eleanor stopped.
Lily was crying.
“Mommy, please.”
Eleanor collapsed into the seat.
The SUV sped away.
For several minutes, nobody spoke.
Then Claire whispered,
“There's another way.”
Eleanor looked at her.
“What?”
“The old federal hospital.”
“Where Margaret is.”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“Because Margaret knows where Henry keeps the children.”
Daniel looked at Eleanor.
“Then that's where we're going.”
The hospital stood outside Arlington.
It had been abandoned for decades.
But underground lights were still operating.
They entered through an old service tunnel.
At the end was a security checkpoint.
Claire used the red key.
The door opened.
Inside was a prison corridor.
Cells lined both sides.
Most were empty.
One wasn't.
An elderly woman sat on a bed.
Her hair was gray.
Her face was thin.
But Eleanor recognized her instantly.
“Mom?”
The woman slowly looked up.
Her eyes filled with tears.
“Eleanor.”
Eleanor rushed forward.
The woman touched the glass.
“I knew you'd come.”
Eleanor cried.
“You're alive.”
“Yes.”
“Why did you let me believe you were dead?”
“I didn't.”
“Then who did?”
The woman looked behind Eleanor.
“Henry.”
Eleanor's heart sank.
“What does he want?”
Margaret looked at Daniel.
“Not what you think.”
“What?”
“He doesn't want Lily.”
Eleanor froze.
“Then Emily?”
Margaret shook her head.
“He doesn't want Emily either.”
Eleanor's voice trembled.
“Then what does he want?”
Margaret whispered,
“He wants you.”
“Me?”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
Margaret looked at Claire.
“Because you are the only one who can open the final chamber.”
Eleanor stared.
“What chamber?”
Margaret closed her eyes.
“The room where the original experiment began.”
Daniel stepped closer.
“Where?”
Margaret looked directly at Eleanor.
“Beneath the White House.”
Silence.
Eleanor couldn't breathe.
Margaret continued.
“Your father didn't die in an accident.”
“I know.”
“He wasn't killed by Henry.”
“I know.”
“Then who killed him?”
Margaret's expression became devastated.
“You did.”
Eleanor froze.
“What?”
Margaret whispered,
“When you were five.”
Eleanor stepped backward.
“No.”
“You pulled the trigger.”
Claire looked shocked.
“That isn't possible.”
Margaret nodded.
“Henry made sure Eleanor remembered the wrong night.”
Eleanor's memories shattered.
The red door.
The gun.
Her father's voice.
A little girl crying.
But there was another memory.
Her own tiny hand holding a gun.
Her father kneeling.
And his final words.
“Run, Ellie.”
Eleanor screamed.
The hospital lights suddenly turned red.
An alarm sounded.
Margaret looked terrified.
“He knows we're here.”
Daniel turned.
“Who?”
Margaret whispered,
“Your father.”
Daniel froze.
“What?”
Margaret stared at him.
“The man you've been calling Henry Vale.”
She swallowed.
“He isn't Henry.”
Eleanor stared.
“Then who is he?”
Margaret's eyes filled with fear.
“Your real father.”
The doors slammed shut.
And a voice echoed through the hospital.
“Hello, Eleanor.”
It was Thomas.
But he sounded different.
Cold.
Calm.
May you like
Almost pleased.
“You finally found your mother.”
