Chapter 13 - My Mother’s Plan
Margaret engineered the breakdown.
Not to kill me.
To hide me.
She knew Patrick Mercer was closing in.
Evan had unknowingly brought surveillance into our lives.
Margaret needed to separate us from him.
The cabin was supposed to contain food, heat, medical supplies, and a working satellite phone.
The generator was sabotaged afterward.
The storm became worse than forecast.
Her rescue team never reached me.
Her plan almost killed Sophie and me.
“I was trying to save you.”
I laughed.
Every person who destroyed my choices eventually said the same sentence.
“Stop.”
Margaret fell silent.
“You don't get to use that phrase anymore.”
She nodded.
The patch in Sophie's blanket had not drawn blood.
It monitored vital signs.
Margaret wanted to know whether we survived.
Still invasive.
Still without consent.
Vincent understood my anger better than anyone.
His entire childhood had apparently been a series of decisions made “for him.”
Then Eleanor arrived.
She saw Margaret.
Neither woman looked surprised.
“You knew she was alive,” Vincent said.
“Yes.”
He laughed once.
“I'm running out of relatives I haven't been lied to about.”
Eleanor accepted that.
Then Margaret revealed the final piece.
Patrick Mercer had not escaped the clinic.
He had never been there.
The man directing Project Winter remotely was using old recordings and intermediaries.
“Where is he?”
“I don't know.”
“Then who does?”
Margaret looked at Sophie.
“Evan.”
I stared.
Evan had been moved into federal custody.
We called Nora.
No answer.
Again.
Nothing.
Then Vincent's phone rang.
Evan.
Video.
He sat inside a moving vehicle.
No restraints.
“Claire.”
My stomach dropped.
“You escaped?”
“No.”
“Where's Agent Bell?”
“With me.”
Camera shifted.
Nora was driving.
“What is happening?”
Nora looked toward the camera.
“My father didn't disappear sixteen years ago.”
Of course.
“He joined Patrick Mercer.”
Nora had spent years infiltrating the network.
Federal agent and secret investigator.
She believed Patrick had killed her father eventually.
She wanted him too.
“Where are you going?”
Evan answered:
“To finish this.”
“No.”
“Claire—”
“No more men deciding what happens for me.”
He stopped.
I surprised myself.
“I’m coming.”
Vincent immediately said:
“So am I.”
Evan gave us coordinates.
A ranch near the Canadian border.
Patrick Mercer's original property.
Margaret went pale.
“That's where Daniel started Project Winter.”
We drove through the night.
Not with an army.
Federal tactical teams followed at distance.
At dawn, we reached the ranch.
Evan stood outside.
Nora beside him.
Nobody shot.
Nobody ran.
Then the farmhouse door opened.
An elderly man emerged.
Patrick Mercer.
My uncle.
He looked ordinary.
That was the worst part.
He smiled at me.
“Claire.”
I felt nothing.
“You destroyed my family.”
“No.”
He looked toward Margaret.
“They did that themselves.”
Then his eyes moved to Vincent.
His smile changed.
“Hello, son.”
Vincent went completely still.
Eleanor whispered:
“No.”
Patrick Mercer laughed.
“Did nobody tell you?”
I looked at Vincent.
Then Eleanor.
Then Patrick.
Vincent's face became terrifyingly calm.
“My father is Patrick Callahan.”
Patrick Mercer shook his head.
“Your mother's husband raised you.”
May you like
Then he looked at Eleanor.
“But I made you.”
