Chapter 48 - What Margaret Built
The crying continued.
Soft.
Rhythmic.
Impossible.
“There are no children in this wing,” Samuel said.
The investigator looked toward the hallway.
“Then somebody brought one.”
We stepped into the corridor.
The sound led us toward a sealed door.
My mother stopped.
“I know that door.”
“What is it?”
“The nursery.”
I looked at her.
“There was a nursery underground?”
“Before you were born.”
The door opened when I touched it.
Inside was an old room.
Two cribs.
A rocking chair.
Shelves of children's books.
And a small wooden horse.
Dust covered everything.
Except one object.
A framed photograph on the wall.
Margaret.
Holding two babies.
I walked closer.
One baby was me.
The other was Evan.
My breath caught.
“We were together.”
My mother nodded.
“For a short time.”
Samuel stared at the photograph.
“This was taken after the transfer.”
David shook his head.
“No.”
Everyone looked at him.
“This photograph was taken before the transfer.”
My mother frowned.
“That's impossible.”
David pointed at the background.
The hospital.
The date.
“Twelve years earlier.”
I stared.
“Then why do I remember nothing?”
My mother whispered:
“Because they separated you before you could remember each other.”
Evan touched the photograph.
“Why keep this?”
Margaret's voice suddenly played from a small speaker.
“Because memories can be stolen.”
We all jumped.
The recording continued.
“But evidence can survive.”
I turned toward the room.
A projector came on.
Margaret appeared.
“By now, the trust has entered restricted control.”
She smiled sadly.
“That means Elias has lost authority.”
Samuel closed his eyes.
Margaret continued.
“But if you're watching this, the family has already suffered the cost.”
Images appeared.
Children.
Court records.
Hospital records.
Bank accounts.
Identity changes.
People disappearing.
“This is what Elias did.”
Then a photograph of me as a child.
“This is what we were trying to prevent.”
The screen shifted.
A second photograph.
Evan.
Then the six beneficiaries.
Margaret spoke:
“The six heirs were never chosen because they were the richest.”
Another image.
Each child's face.
“They were chosen because each represented a different piece of the original family.”
Samuel frowned.
“Different piece?”
Margaret nodded on the screen.
“One carried blood.”
She looked at my photograph.
“One carried witness.”
Evan.
“One carried law.”
Anna.
“One carried finance.”
Lucas.
“One carried memory.”
Daniel.
“And one carried truth.”
Samuel.
My mother whispered, “What about the sixth?”
Margaret's expression became serious.
“The sixth is the one who can connect all of them.”
I stared at her.
“Me.”
The screen displayed my name.
“Natalie.”
Elias's voice came from the doorway.
“You finally understand.”
I turned.
He stood there.
The investigator raised his weapon.
“Hands where I can see them.”
Elias complied.
“No tricks.”
“No.”
He looked exhausted.
Older than before.
Less powerful.
Almost human.
I hated that.
“Where are Diane and the boys?”
“They're alive.”
“Where?”
He pointed toward a service corridor.
“Two levels above.”
The investigator moved to retrieve them.
Elias didn't resist.
I stepped closer.
“Why did you let us discover all this?”
Elias stared at me.
“Because I couldn't stop the trust after you restricted my control.”
“You could have lied.”
“I did.”
“Why tell the truth now?”
“Because the truth is no longer dangerous to me.”
That frightened me.
“Why?”
“Because I've already lost.”
Samuel stepped forward.
“No.”
Elias looked at him.
“You've won nothing.”
“I know.”
He sighed.
“That's the point.”
I looked at him.
“What does that mean?”
“You think I was trying to own the trust.”
“Aren't you?”
“No.”
He looked toward the wall.
“I was trying to keep someone else from owning it.”
The lights flickered.
Jonathan's voice came from the old monitor.
“Don't listen to him.”
Elias laughed.
“Too late.”
I looked from one man to the other.
“For the first time in twenty years, you two agree on something.”
Neither spoke.
Then the system sounded.
“RESTRICTED CONTROL ACTIVE.”
“ARCHITECT REQUIRED.”
“SELECTION PENDING.”
The lights moved toward Evan.
Then toward me.
Then stopped.
The system added:
“ARCHITECT CANNOT BE SELECTED WITHOUT FOUNDER'S CONSENT.”
I stared.
“Margaret.”
Samuel shook his head.
“She died.”
The system replied.
“NEGATIVE.”
Everyone froze.
“Founder status: ACTIVE.”
My mother covered her mouth.
“No.”
David whispered, “That's impossible.”
The screen displayed:
FOUNDER STATUS VERIFIED.
LOCATION: UNKNOWN.
DATE OF LAST CONFIRMED ACTION: TODAY.
Evan stared.
“She isn't dead.”
Nobody answered.
I felt a strange coldness spread through me.
“What if she's been here all along?”
Samuel shook his head.
“No.”
“Why not?”
“Because I've searched every record.”
Margaret's voice came through the speaker one last time.
“You were never supposed to find me.”
The speaker cut out.
At that exact moment, Diane and the boys appeared at the end of the corridor with the investigator.
They were alive.
Shaking.
Lucas ran toward his mother.
Daniel embraced Diane.
For a few seconds, the fear loosened its grip.
Then Diane looked at the monitor.
She went pale.
“I know that voice.”
I stared at her.
“How?”
Diane swallowed.
“Because I met her.”
“When?”
She looked directly at me.
“Last month.”
My heart stopped.
“Where?”
May you like
Diane's voice dropped to a whisper.
“At your father's house.”
