Chapter 6 - THE MOTHER WHO CONTROLLED EVERYTHING
Victoria Hale sat inside a federal interrogation room.
She looked calm.
Too calm.
The agents questioned her for nearly an hour.
She refused to answer.
Then the commander entered.
He placed one photograph on the table.
It showed Victoria standing beside Elena thirty years ago.
Victoria looked at it.
“Where did you get that?”
“Your daughter-in-law's mother.”
Victoria smiled.
“You're still chasing ghosts.”
“We found the archive.”
The smile disappeared.
For the first time, fear crossed her face.
The commander leaned forward.
“Who is Nathaniel Hale?”
Victoria said nothing.
“Who runs Nightglass now?”
Nothing.
“Why did Julian target Clara?”
Victoria finally laughed.
“Because Clara is the only person who can expose you.”
The commander frowned.
“Expose us?”
Victoria leaned closer.
“You think Arthur was the hero?”
The door opened.
Arthur entered.
Victoria looked at him.
“Hello, General.”
Arthur's jaw tightened.
“You should have been arrested thirty years ago.”
“You should have stayed dead.”
Clara stood behind him.
Victoria looked at her.
For the first time, her expression changed.
“You have Elena's eyes.”
Clara stepped forward.
“Why did Julian marry me?”
Victoria answered immediately.
“To gain access to you.”
“Why?”
“Because Elena knew the truth.”
“What truth?”
Victoria looked at Arthur.
“Ask him.”
Arthur's face hardened.
“Don't.”
Victoria smiled.
“Tell her what happened the night Elena disappeared.”
Clara turned toward her father.
“Dad?”
Arthur remained silent.
Victoria whispered:
“Elena didn't trust you.”
Clara's heart broke.
“Is that true?”
Arthur finally spoke.
“She believed I had betrayed her.”
“Did you?”
“No.”
Victoria laughed.
“That's what you told yourself.”
Arthur slammed his hand onto the table.
“Enough!”
But Victoria continued.
“Elena discovered that someone inside Arthur's own command had been feeding information to Nightglass.”
Clara stared at her father.
“Who?”
Victoria smiled.
“Arthur's second-in-command.”
The commander entered.
“General.”
Arthur turned.
The commander's face was grim.
“We checked the archive.”
“What did you find?”
“Your old deputy's fingerprints.”
Arthur went completely still.
“That's impossible.”
“He died twenty-nine years ago.”
Victoria laughed softly.
“No.”
Everyone turned.
“He didn't.”
Victoria leaned back.
“He's alive.”
Arthur whispered:
“Colonel Marcus Reed.”
Victoria nodded.
“And he has been working for Nightglass ever since.”
Clara suddenly remembered the old photograph.
The man standing beside her father.
The man her mother had circled in red.
She looked at the photograph again.
Then she noticed something.
A second figure stood in the background.
A little girl.
About nine years old.
Clara.
Her mother had circled the girl too.
Underneath, Elena had written:
THEY KNOW SHE IS THE KEY.
Clara felt sick.
“Mom knew.”
Arthur looked at her.
“She knew they would come for you.”
“And Julian?”
Arthur hesitated.
Then the commander received another alert.
His eyes widened.
“Sir.”
“What?”
“Julian Hale is missing.”
Victoria smiled.
“He's going home.”
Arthur's expression changed.
“Where?”
Victoria answered:
“To the Hale estate.”
May you like
Then she whispered:
“Where the real Nightglass headquarters has been hiding for thirty years.”
