Chapter 24: Saint Orison
The vapor in the nursery wing was harmless theater smoke.
The abduction had been planned to look like an emergency evacuation.
Security footage showed a man in firefighter gear carrying Noah through the service entrance.
His face was hidden behind an oxygen mask.
He entered a white ambulance with stolen plates.
Detective Ellis coordinated roadblocks.
No vehicle was found.
I wanted to search every street myself.
Instead, Ellis forced me to remain at the center.
“If they took Noah to control you, they will make contact,” he said.
“That is supposed to comfort me?”
“No. It is supposed to keep you from running into a trap.”
Claire sent us a location through an encrypted message.
Saint Orison Maternity Annex.
She claimed Mara might still be there.
Ellis did not want me to go.
I went anyway.
The abandoned hospital stood forty miles outside the city.
Its windows were boarded.
The maternity sign had faded until only a few letters remained.
Rosa came with us.
Victor insisted on joining.
My mother stayed at the center with Lily.
Inside, the hospital smelled of mold and disinfectant.
Recent footprints crossed the dusty lobby.
We followed them to the lower floor.
Mara was in a treatment room.
She was alive.
Her wrists were tied, but she had not been seriously injured.
Rosa freed her.
“Where is Noah?” I asked.
“I never saw him.”
“Who took you?”
“Two men. They kept their faces covered.”
“Who ordered it?”
Mara looked at Victor.
“You know.”
My father shook his head.
“I do not.”
“You built the accounts.”
“I helped establish the original shelters.”
“You transferred money through them.”
“Before I knew what Thomas was doing.”
Mara laughed bitterly.
“That is what all of you say. You didn’t know until the money became inconvenient.”
Victor accepted the accusation.
“Tell Elena what you know.”
Mara explained that she had worked for Aster Financial Services.
She discovered that children born to certain family lines were listed as succession assets.
The parents often never knew.
Some children were adopted.
Some guardianships were manipulated.
Some mothers were declared unfit.
“Why Lily?” I asked.
“She is not part of the trust. They used her to control me.”
“Why come to the center?”
“Because Thomas wanted me to.”
The room became silent.
“You were sent?” Rosa asked.
“I was told to deliver the blue envelope.”
“Why?”
“To make Elena open the wall.”
I felt sick.
Finding the ledger had been part of his plan.
“What does he gain from that?”
“The ledger contains the original succession authority. Once it was removed from the sealed compartment, the dormant trust could be reactivated.”
I had not exposed the system.
I had unlocked it.
Mara reached into her coat lining and removed a small memory card.
“I copied the real files before they took me.”
Detective Ellis accepted it.
“What is on this?”
“The names of every person who helped Thomas.”
“Is Claire one of them?” I asked.
Mara studied my face.
“No.”
Relief lasted less than a second.
“Then who inside the center is working for him?”
Mara pointed toward the observation window.
A shadow moved behind the glass.
The door locked automatically.
The overhead lights shut off.
A man’s voice came through the hospital speaker.
“You should never have brought Victor.”
My father stared into the darkness.
He recognized the voice.
“Thomas.”
May you like
The man laughed softly.
“Hello, old friend.”
