Chapter 12 - The House in PennsylvaniaLorenzo drove through the night.
Mara sat beside him.
Vivien followed in another vehicle with Daniel and Elena.
His mother had wanted to come.
Lorenzo refused.
He did not know what waited at the estate.
And he wasn't willing to risk her life again.
The property stood beyond a line of dead trees.
The house was enormous.
Abandoned.
Its windows were boarded.
The gates had rusted shut.
Mara stepped out of the car.
"Your father owned this?"
"Apparently."
"Why didn't you know?"
"Because he didn't want me to."
They entered through the side door.
Dust covered everything.
Old furniture.
Broken portraits.
Boxes.
A grandfather clock stopped at 2:17.
Lorenzo walked deeper into the house.
Then he saw the portrait.
His father.
Standing beside a woman Lorenzo had never seen.
Mara examined the photograph.
"Who is she?"
"I don't know."
Behind them, Vivien entered.
The moment she saw the portrait, she stopped.
Lorenzo noticed.
"You know her."
Vivien stared at the woman.
"Yes."
"Who?"
"My mother."
Silence filled the room.
Lorenzo turned toward her.
"Why is your mother here?"
Vivien swallowed.
"Because this house wasn't your father's."
"What?"
"My mother owned it first."
Mara stepped closer.
"Then why did Lorenzo's father have it?"
Vivien looked toward the portrait.
"Because they made a deal."
"What kind of deal?"
"Your father agreed to protect her."
"From the Circle?"
"No."
She looked at Lorenzo.
"From the government."
Before Lorenzo could respond, a sound came from upstairs.
A floorboard creaked.
Mara drew her weapon.
"Someone's here."
They moved carefully.
At the end of the hallway stood a locked bedroom.
The door was slightly open.
Lorenzo pushed it.
Inside was a desk.
On it sat an old tape recorder.
And a photograph.
Lorenzo picked it up.
His father.
His mother.
Vivien's mother.
And a fourth person.
Lorenzo stared.
He knew him.
Everyone knew him.
He was a former United States senator who had died fifteen years earlier.
Mara whispered:
"That's impossible."
The tape recorder clicked.
A man's voice filled the room.
Lorenzo recognized it immediately.
His father's voice.
"If you're hearing this, then I failed."
The recording continued.
"Victor was never the real enemy."
Lorenzo's blood ran cold.
"Then who was?"
The voice answered.
"The person who inherited the Circle after my death."
The tape stopped.
A second later, the bedroom window shattered.
Someone fired from outside.
Everyone dropped.
Mara shouted:
"DOWN!"
Lorenzo pulled Vivien behind the desk.
Another shot.
Then silence.
When they looked outside, nobody was there.
Except for a small white envelope resting on the windowsill.
Lorenzo opened it.
Inside was a photograph of Emma.
Taken that morning.
May you like
On the back were four words.
SHE IS THE KEY.
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