Nathan disappeared from federal custody at 2:37 p.m.<\/p>\n
By 2:45, the hospital went into restricted access.<\/p>\n
By 3:00, Agent Bell wanted my key in federal evidence.<\/p>\n
I refused.<\/p>\n
\u201cClaire, this is not negotiable.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIt is if Nathan needs it.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s exactly why we need to secure it.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou secured Nathan.\u201d<\/p>\n
Bell\u2019s jaw tightened.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat failure is being investigated.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIt already happened.\u201d<\/p>\n
Daniel stood beside me.<\/p>\n
\u201cShe has a point.\u201d<\/p>\n
Bell looked at him.<\/p>\n
\u201cNo, she has fear.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI have both.\u201d<\/p>\n
Sophie watched from the bed.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is the necklace key?\u201d<\/p>\n
I turned.<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIs it for Grandma Laura\u2019s stuff?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThen don\u2019t lose it.\u201d<\/p>\n
Agent Bell looked at Sophie.<\/p>\n
Nobody in the room wanted to argue with her.<\/p>\n
Finally Bell said, \u201cIt stays on Claire only if two agents stay with her.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cFine.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd she does not leave the floor.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cFine.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd if there is any credible threat\u2014\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cFine.\u201d<\/p>\n
Daniel looked at me.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou\u2019re agreeing too fast.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m tired.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s not why.\u201d<\/p>\n
He knew me too well.<\/p>\n
I had already decided I was going to Geneva.<\/p>\n
Not Switzerland.<\/p>\n
New York.<\/p>\n
He saw it on my face.<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWe need the archive.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThe FBI is going.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNathan may already be there.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cExactly.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe needs this key.\u201d<\/p>\n
Daniel stared at me.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat is not an argument for carrying it toward him.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s an argument for knowing he can\u2019t open anything without me.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo, Claire. It\u2019s an argument for staying next to twenty armed agents.\u201d<\/p>\n
Sophie raised her hand.<\/p>\n
We both looked at her.<\/p>\n
\u201cI vote Dad.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhich one?\u201d Eric asked from the corner.<\/p>\n
Sophie pointed at Daniel.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis Dad.\u201d<\/p>\n
Eric absorbed that quietly.<\/p>\n
Daniel almost smiled.<\/p>\n
\u201cThank you.\u201d<\/p>\n
Sophie looked at me.<\/p>\n
\u201cMom, you do dangerous stuff when you\u2019re mad.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThat is unfair.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou drove through a flooded street once.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIt looked shallow.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was not shallow.\u201d<\/p>\n
Daniel folded his arms.<\/p>\n
\u201cExcellent example.\u201d<\/p>\n
I glared at both of them.<\/p>\n
Sophie smiled.<\/p>\n
For a minute the room felt almost normal.<\/p>\n
Then Samuel requested to speak with me.<\/p>\n
Bell brought him to an interrogation room on the same floor under heavy guard.<\/p>\n
His wrists were cuffed to the table.<\/p>\n
He looked tired for the first time.<\/p>\n
Not weak.<\/p>\n
Tired.<\/p>\n
I stayed standing.<\/p>\n
\u201cNathan escaped.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI heard.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe attacked Maria Ortiz.\u201d<\/p>\n
Samuel\u2019s expression changed.<\/p>\n
\u201cIs she alive?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
He looked relieved.<\/p>\n
I hated that too.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou care about her?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou have a strange way of showing it.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThat accusation could apply to most of my life.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAt least you\u2019re learning.\u201d<\/p>\n
Samuel looked at the chain around my neck.<\/p>\n
\u201cSo Laura did leave it with you.\u201d<\/p>\n
I touched the locket.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou already knew that.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI suspected.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cEric sent you a picture.\u201d<\/p>\n
Samuel closed his eyes briefly.<\/p>\n
\u201cOf course he told you.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe\u2019s telling me a lot now.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cToo late.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cInteresting thing for you to say.\u201d<\/p>\n
Samuel accepted it.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat do you want?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThe truth.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThat is too large a request.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThen start with Nathan.\u201d<\/p>\n
Samuel leaned back.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe was my student.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou trained him.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cTo experiment on children?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThat came later?\u201d<\/p>\n
His expression hardened.<\/p>\n
\u201cNathan wanted results faster than I did.\u201d<\/p>\n
I laughed once.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou expect me to believe you were the cautious one.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cCompared to Nathan, yes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat does he want from Laura\u2019s archive?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThe reversal protocol.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy?\u201d<\/p>\n
Samuel looked toward the mirrored glass.<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t know who\u2019s listening.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cEveryone.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThen I need privacy.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cClaire\u2014\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo more private truths.\u201d<\/p>\n
His mouth tightened.<\/p>\n
\u201cFine.\u201d<\/p>\n
He lowered his voice.<\/p>\n
\u201cNathan has a daughter.\u201d<\/p>\n
That surprised me.<\/p>\n
\u201cHow old?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cTwenty-one.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIs she sick?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWith the same condition?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNot exactly.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat exactly?\u201d<\/p>\n
Samuel looked down at his cuffed hands.<\/p>\n
\u201cNathan used an early version of the vector on her.\u201d<\/p>\n
I stared.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe experimented on his own child.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHow old was she?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cFour.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd now?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cProgressive bone marrow failure. endocrine dysfunction. unstable cell lines.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cGenomic instability.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
Everything shifted.<\/p>\n
Nathan had not merely wanted Laura\u2019s archive as leverage.<\/p>\n
He wanted the reversal for his daughter.<\/p>\n
\u201cDoes it work?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t know.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cMaria said Laura thought she found one.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cLaura found something.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cA way to selectively silence the edited sequence.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWould that help Sophie?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cPossibly.\u201d<\/p>\n
I glared at him.<\/p>\n
He almost smiled.<\/p>\n
\u201cYour least favorite word.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cMine too.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThen be specific.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIf Sophie\u2019s current tumor biology is being driven partly by vector-induced instability, Laura\u2019s reversal protocol could reduce future recurrence risk.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cCould it shrink the current tumor?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cSo she still needs chemotherapy.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd the reversal would come later.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIf it proves viable.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDid you know this when you came to the hospital?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThen why bring the neutralizer instead of telling us about the archive?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause she would have died before anyone reached it.\u201d<\/p>\n
I wanted to deny that.<\/p>\n
I could not.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou saved her.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
The confidence made me angry.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou also put her in danger in the first place.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
That answer was quieter.<\/p>\n
For the first time, Samuel looked away.<\/p>\n
\u201cDo you regret it?\u201d<\/p>\n
He took a long time.<\/p>\n
\u201cI regret believing I had the right to choose for her.\u201d<\/p>\n
That was not the same as regretting the science.<\/p>\n
I could hear the distinction.<\/p>\n
\u201cSo you still think the treatment was justified.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDo you think it worked?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou\u2019re impossible.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m honest.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo. You\u2019re selective.\u201d<\/p>\n
Samuel almost nodded.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat too.\u201d<\/p>\n
I sat across from him.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhere is the archive?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou already know.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cGeneva.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat building?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cLake Seneca Biomedical Repository.\u201d<\/p>\n
Bell spoke through the intercom.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re verifying.\u201d<\/p>\n
Samuel looked toward the mirror.<\/p>\n
\u201cGood.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat happens when both keys are used?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cA sealed evidence package is released.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cPhysical papers?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd digital storage.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAnything else?\u201d<\/p>\n
Samuel hesitated.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere may be biological samples.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cFrom my mother?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
The idea turned my stomach.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cLaura insisted.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cFor what?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cFuture testing.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDid she know Sophie might exist someday?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cShe was thinking about me.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
I looked down at my hands.<\/p>\n
My mother had died believing the secrets she hid might someday protect me.<\/p>\n
Instead, they might protect my daughter.<\/p>\n
Bell entered.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe confirmed the repository.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThen go.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWe are.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m coming.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
Samuel looked at me.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou should.\u201d<\/p>\n
Bell turned.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s not helping.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cShe has the key.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWe can secure the key.\u201d<\/p>\n
Samuel shook his head.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou can carry it. You cannot authenticate her.\u201d<\/p>\n
I stared at him.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat does that mean?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThe repository requires biometric confirmation.\u201d<\/p>\n
Bell swore softly.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou left that part out.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou didn\u2019t ask.\u201d<\/p>\n
I almost threw the chair at Samuel.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat biometric confirmation?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cLaura designed it to verify direct maternal lineage.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHow?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDNA.\u201d<\/p>\n
Bell folded his arms.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe can provide a sample.\u201d<\/p>\n
Samuel shook his head.<\/p>\n
\u201cFresh epithelial sample. collected onsite.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cSo Claire has to be there.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
Daniel was going to hate this.<\/p>\n
He did.<\/p>\n
Absolutely.<\/p>\n
Completely.<\/p>\n
Without compromise.<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDaniel.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThe archive may contain information Sophie needs.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThe FBI can lock down the building.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI know.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNathan is loose.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI know.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe has already attacked one person.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI know.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe posed as our daughter\u2019s doctor and deliberately let her disease get worse.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI know.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThen stop saying that like it makes this reasonable.\u201d<\/p>\n
Sophie watched us.<\/p>\n
I lowered my voice.<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t want to go.\u201d<\/p>\n
That stopped him.<\/p>\n
\u201cI want to stay here.\u201d<\/p>\n
He said nothing.<\/p>\n
\u201cI want to sit beside Sophie and complain about hospital coffee and argue with you about whether she gets to have ice cream for breakfast.\u201d<\/p>\n
Sophie said, \u201cI do.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNot helping.\u201d<\/p>\n
She grinned faintly.<\/p>\n
I looked back at Daniel.<\/p>\n
\u201cBut if my mother left something that could keep Sophie from getting sick again, I have to go.\u201d<\/p>\n
Daniel rubbed both hands over his face.<\/p>\n
\u201cHow long?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBell says they can fly me.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou hate small planes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ll hate this one too.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m coming.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cSophie needs you.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cShe needs you too.\u201d<\/p>\n
Sophie raised her hand again.<\/p>\n
Daniel sighed.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI think Mom should go.\u201d<\/p>\n
He stared at her.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou just voted for me.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI changed my vote.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s corruption.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m ten.\u201d<\/p>\n
She looked at me.<\/p>\n
\u201cGet Grandma\u2019s stuff.\u201d<\/p>\n
I crossed the room.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou sure?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
Honest.<\/p>\n
Like all of us were finally trying to be.<\/p>\n
\u201cBut Kevin\u2019s still there.\u201d<\/p>\n
She touched the side of her head.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf Grandma knew something, go find it.\u201d<\/p>\n
I kissed her forehead.<\/p>\n
Daniel leaned close.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf anything changes, you turn around.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI will.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIf Bell says there\u2019s a threat, you leave.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI will.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIf Nathan shows up\u2014\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI leave.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo heroic speeches.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI hate heroic speeches.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou give them constantly.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI do not.\u201d<\/p>\n
Sophie whispered, \u201cYou kind of do.\u201d<\/p>\n
Even Eric laughed.<\/p>\n
Forty minutes later, I was on a federal aircraft with Agent Bell and two other agents.<\/p>\n
The brass key Samuel carried was sealed in Bell\u2019s evidence case.<\/p>\n
My silver key hung beneath my shirt.<\/p>\n
The flight was rough.<\/p>\n
I spent most of it thinking about my mother.<\/p>\n
Laura.<\/p>\n
Not Patient L.<\/p>\n
Not a study participant.<\/p>\n
My mother.<\/p>\n
She made terrible coffee.<\/p>\n
She sang off-key while cleaning.<\/p>\n
She hated yellow roses.<\/p>\n
She once drove across town at midnight because I left a stuffed rabbit at a friend\u2019s house.<\/p>\n
Samuel had reduced her to research.<\/p>\n
I would not.<\/p>\n
We landed after dark.<\/p>\n
The Lake Seneca Biomedical Repository looked disappointingly ordinary.<\/p>\n
Low concrete building.<\/p>\n
No dramatic vault.<\/p>\n
No armed towers.<\/p>\n
Just security glass and carefully trimmed shrubs.<\/p>\n
Federal agents had already secured the perimeter.<\/p>\n
No sign of Nathan.<\/p>\n
Inside, an administrator checked Bell\u2019s documents.<\/p>\n
Then mine.<\/p>\n
The brass key entered one slot.<\/p>\n
My silver key entered another.<\/p>\n
Nothing happened.<\/p>\n
The administrator looked at me.<\/p>\n
\u201cNow the identity protocol.\u201d<\/p>\n
A technician swabbed the inside of my cheek.<\/p>\n
We waited.<\/p>\n
Five minutes.<\/p>\n
Eight.<\/p>\n
Then a light above the vault turned green.<\/p>\n
The administrator opened a steel drawer.<\/p>\n
Inside sat a gray archival case.<\/p>\n
Laura Bennett was printed across the top.<\/p>\n
My mother's name.<\/p>\n
My throat closed.<\/p>\n
Bell photographed everything before touching it.<\/p>\n
Inside were notebooks.<\/p>\n
Data drives.<\/p>\n
Legal declarations.<\/p>\n
Photographs.<\/p>\n
Blood samples preserved in sealed cryogenic capsules.<\/p>\n
Then I saw an envelope.<\/p>\n
CLAIRE.<\/p>\n
My mother\u2019s handwriting.<\/p>\n
I stopped breathing.<\/p>\n
\u201cCan I?\u201d<\/p>\n
Bell nodded.<\/p>\n
I opened it.<\/p>\n
The letter was not long.<\/p>\n
I read the first line.<\/p>\n
If you are reading this, then Samuel either failed to keep his promise or lived long enough to break it.<\/p>\n
My hands shook.<\/p>\n
Bell looked away, giving me the smallest amount of privacy possible inside a federal evidence vault.<\/p>\n
I kept reading.<\/p>\n
Laura wrote that she had agreed to the experimental procedure because she was terrified of giving me the disease that had killed women in our family.<\/p>\n
She wrote that fear had made Samuel sound more certain than he was.<\/p>\n
She wrote that when she discovered he had hidden risks from her, she copied everything.<\/p>\n
Then the final paragraph.<\/p>\n
If you ever have a daughter, do not let Samuel treat her. He believes preventing suffering gives him permission to decide what other people may endure.<\/p>\n
I sat down.<\/p>\n
My mother had warned me.<\/p>\n
Twenty years earlier.<\/p>\n
And the warning had been hidden inches from my heart.<\/p>\n
Bell crouched beside me.<\/p>\n
\u201cClaire.\u201d<\/p>\n
I looked up.<\/p>\n
One of the agents stood at the doorway.<\/p>\n
Weapon drawn.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cMovement outside.\u201d<\/p>\n
Bell immediately closed the case.<\/p>\n
\u201cStay here.\u201d<\/p>\n
The lights went out.<\/p>\n
Not flickered.<\/p>\n
Out.<\/p>\n
Emergency power activated.<\/p>\n
Red lights.<\/p>\n
Just like the hospital.<\/p>\n
My stomach dropped.<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
Bell drew his weapon.<\/p>\n
A gunshot sounded somewhere near the lobby.<\/p>\n
Then another.<\/p>\n
The vault administrator screamed.<\/p>\n
Bell pushed me behind the steel door.<\/p>\n
\u201cLock this after me.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat about the archive?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cTake it.\u201d<\/p>\n
He ran into the corridor.<\/p>\n
I grabbed the gray case.<\/p>\n
My hands could barely hold it.<\/p>\n
Footsteps approached.<\/p>\n
Fast.<\/p>\n
Someone struck the outer door.<\/p>\n
Once.<\/p>\n
Twice.<\/p>\n
Then a familiar voice called through the darkness.<\/p>\n
\u201cClaire.\u201d<\/p>\n
Nathan Vale.<\/p>\n
I backed away.<\/p>\n
\u201cStay out.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m not here to hurt you.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou already did.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI need the archive.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cFor your daughter.\u201d<\/p>\n
Silence.<\/p>\n
That confirmed it.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat\u2019s her name?\u201d<\/p>\n
Nathan did not answer.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat\u2019s her name?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cEmily.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDoes Emily know what you did to her?\u201d<\/p>\n
A longer silence.<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThen you\u2019re exactly like Samuel.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m trying to save her.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cSo was he.\u201d<\/p>\n
Nathan struck the door again.<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t have time.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNeither does Sophie.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cLaura\u2019s reversal may save both of them.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThen surrender.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI tried that.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou escaped.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause Samuel\u2019s people were coming.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cSamuel is in custody.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cSamuel is not who I\u2019m afraid of.\u201d<\/p>\n
The words stopped me.<\/p>\n
\u201cWho?\u201d<\/p>\n
Nathan\u2019s breathing sounded close to the door.<\/p>\n
\u201cClaire, the program didn\u2019t end with Samuel.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI know.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo. You don\u2019t.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat are you talking about?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe lost control of it years ago.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWho controls it?\u201d<\/p>\n
Nathan spoke so quietly I almost missed it.<\/p>\n
\u201cNorthStar.\u201d<\/p>\n
Eric\u2019s old company.<\/p>\n
The one that had transported research materials.<\/p>\n
The one he claimed was just logistics.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou\u2019re lying.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI wish I were.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cEric worked for NorthStar.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI know.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDid he know?\u201d<\/p>\n
Nathan did not answer.<\/p>\n
\u201cNathan.\u201d<\/p>\n
A burst of gunfire sounded from the lobby.<\/p>\n
He swore.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey\u2019re here.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWho?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThe people who\u2019ve been watching Sophie since before she was born.\u201d<\/p>\n
My fingers tightened around Laura\u2019s case.<\/p>\n
Nathan shouted through the door.<\/p>\n
\u201cClaire, if they get that archive, Sophie becomes property again.\u201d<\/p>\n
Nathan disappeared from federal custody at 2:37 p.m. By 2:45, the hospital went into restricted access. By 3:00, Agent Bell wanted my key in federal evidence. I refused. \u201cClaire, this … <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":12251,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-12271","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-insightdrama"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12271","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=12271"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12271\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":12318,"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12271\/revisions\/12318"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/12251"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=12271"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=12271"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=12271"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}