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“This woman? She was a justice for the highest court in the land?”
“I’m afraid so. She was found dead in her home about nine years ago of an apparent heart attack. It confused everyone at the time because she was known for being in great health. She jogged every day, was a vegan, truly took care of herself. Apparently, she didn’t take care with the company she kept.”
“That woman terrified me. Just the way she stared at me made me nervous.”
“You’d never met her before? Never?” asked Hiro.
“No, I swear!”
“I believe you, hun. The thing is, your father and Madeline Saint attended university together. In fact, there are several photos of them together in the college yearbook looking pretty cozy.”
“What? No,” she said, shaking her head. “No, that can’t be. My mother told me that she and my father had known one another since high school.”
“They did, Lyra, but they weren’t dating. In fact, in this document,” said Code, pushing the sheet of paper toward her, “you can see a note made by your uncle. Your father and mother were an arranged marriage. An alliance. He wanted to marry Madeline.”
“She hated me because of my mother. Right from the start,” whispered Lyra.
“Unfortunately, yes. But I think she also hated your uncle. He was the one that refused his brother’s request to marry Madeline instead of your mother.”
“Jesus, is this all some sort of game for him? Was he just using me and everyone else as pawns?” she asked no one in particular.
“I don’t know, hun. But Madeline is gone, so are your parents. That means for us, we have to focus on your uncle and Quetz.”
“What about the admiral?” she asked.
“We’ll take care of him as well, but we need to be certain of how deep this truly runs. For all we know, at this point, it could stretch all the way to the White House. We hope not, but we have to be certain.”
Lyra stood, pacing around the small conference room. She pushed back the hair from her face, then turned, staring at the men.
“I’m trapped, aren’t I? I’m stuck here, no matter what.”
“We don’t know that for sure,” said Hiro.
“This is my future. Right here. Even if you kill my uncle, even if you kill Quetz and the admiral, I’m still going to be on the run.”
“Lyra, we can provide a new identity for you. It might seem extreme, but if necessary, plastic surgery is always an option.” She stared at the group of men, all staring back at her, waiting for her response.
“I was hoping to avoid that before. Fontenot offered it to me as well. I just kept thinking I didn’t want to not look like my parents. Knowing what I know now, maybe that’s not such a bad thing.”
“You don’t have to decide anything right now. Let’s find out what the others think, and we’ll devise a plan. For now, just stay on property. Your trackers will ensure we know where you are or if you’re in trouble.”
“What about a phone? You took mine,” she said, staring at Hiro.
“We’re tracking all calls coming into your phone.”
“And? Have there been calls?” she asked.
“A few,” said Hiro. “They’ve all come from your uncle. We can only assume that Garvin was somehow able to get the numbers of the burner phones.”
“I can only imagine what he had to say,” she said, shaking her head. “Let me guess. Something like, ‘Lyra, if you don’t return home, you’ll force me to do something drastic.’”
“That’s not far off,” smirked Code. “Don’t worry, honey. He doesn’t know where we’re located. He can’t find you.”
“Does the admiral?” They all stared at her, frowning. “Does the admiral know where you’re located? Could he find me?”
“Shit.”
CHAPTER TWELVE
