Chapter 5 - The Sister Who Was Buried Twice
"Your sister."
The words stayed in the air.
Impossible.
That was the only thought my mind could form.
My sister had been dead for twelve years.
I remembered the funeral.
I remembered the black dress my mother forced me to wear.
I remembered standing beside a wooden box that was too small for the person I loved most.
I remembered everyone telling me the same thing.
She was gone.
But now her voice was coming through the speakers of a private jet thousands of feet above the ground.
"Claire?"
The voice spoke again.
Softer this time.
Like she knew exactly what was happening inside my head.
"Claire, please listen to me."
I couldn't move.
I couldn't breathe.
Adrian looked at me carefully.
Not with suspicion.
With something worse.
Pity.
"How?" I whispered.
Nobody answered.
I looked at him.
"How is my sister alive?"
Adrian didn't say anything.
That was enough.
My chest tightened.
"You knew."
His eyes lowered.
"Yes."
The anger came instantly.
"You knew."
"Claire—"
"No."
My voice cracked.
"You knew my sister was alive, and you let me believe she was dead?"
The cabin became silent.
Even Marcus stopped smiling.
Elena looked down at Lily.
Nobody defended him.
Nobody told me I was wrong.
Because I wasn't.
Adrian had known.
And he had kept the biggest secret of my life from me.
"I tried to protect you."
I laughed.
A painful, empty sound.
"Everyone keeps saying that."
I looked around the cabin.
"Everyone lies to me and calls it protection."
The radio crackled.
Then my sister's voice came again.
"Claire, I'm sorry."
I froze.
Because it sounded exactly like her.
The same voice.
The same softness.
The same way she used to say my name when I was scared.
I walked toward the speaker.
"Where are you?"
A pause.
Then:
"Not far."
My hands trembled.
"Why didn't you come home?"
Silence.
That silence hurt more than any answer.
Then she said:
"Because if I came home, they would have found you."
I looked at Adrian.
He closed his eyes.
Like he had heard those words before.
"Who?"
My voice became sharper.
"Who would have found me?"
My sister didn't answer immediately.
When she did, her voice was quieter.
"The same people who killed Daniel."
The cabin went still.
I looked at Adrian.
Then Marcus.
Then Elena.
Nobody looked surprised.
And that terrified me.
"Everyone knows except me."
My voice broke.
"I am the only person who doesn't know what my own life is."
Adrian stepped closer.
"Claire."
"Don't."
I moved away.
"I don't want another explanation."
He stopped.
For once, Adrian Voss listened.
The plane shook again.
The warning alarms continued.
The pilot's voice came through.
"We have five minutes before we need to stabilize."
Marcus looked at Adrian.
"We need to land."
Adrian nodded.
Then he looked at me.
"We will talk after we survive."
I almost smiled.
"That's convenient."
He didn't respond.
Because he knew I was right.
The plane began descending.
I sat down with Lily in my arms.
She was asleep.
Completely unaware that the adults around her were surrounded by betrayal.
I watched her tiny face.
And I wondered how many people had died protecting her.
How many secrets had been buried because of this child.
Then I felt something under her blanket.
A small piece of paper.
I frowned.
I carefully pulled it out.
Nobody noticed.
The paper was old.
Folded several times.
My heart started beating faster.
Because I recognized the handwriting.
Daniel's.
My fingers shook as I opened it.
There was only one sentence.
"Claire, if you're reading this, trust the woman you were told to forget."
I stopped.
The woman I was told to forget.
My sister.
My dead sister.
The radio suddenly turned on again.
My sister spoke.
"Claire."
I looked up.
"Yes?"
Her voice became urgent.
"Do you have the note?"
My blood went cold.
I looked at the paper in my hand.
"How do you know about this?"
No answer.
Then Adrian stepped forward.
"Because she wrote it."
I turned toward him.
"What?"
He looked at the note.
"That note was never meant for you to find."
My heart raced.
"Then why did Daniel leave it?"
Adrian's expression changed.
"Because he knew someone would make sure you did."
The plane landed hard.
Everyone grabbed their seats.
The tires touched the runway.
But nobody relaxed.
Because we all knew landing didn't mean safety.
It only meant the danger was waiting on the ground.
The aircraft slowed.
The engines lowered.
Adrian immediately stood.
"We leave now."
The door opened.
Cold air rushed inside.
Outside was an abandoned private airfield.
No buildings.
No people.
Nothing.
Too empty.
Marcus looked outside.
"That's wrong."
Adrian looked at him.
"What?"
"Someone should be here."
Elena held Lily closer.
"Maybe they are."
Nobody moved.
Because she was right.
A place could be empty and still watched.
Adrian signaled his men.
But there were no men.
Only him.
Only Marcus.
Only Elena.
Only me.
And a baby who had become the center of a war.
We stepped off the plane.
My feet touched the ground.
And for the first time in hours, I felt something different.
Not fear.
Recognition.
Because this place felt familiar.
I looked around.
A broken hangar stood in the distance.
The same kind of building Daniel used to photograph when he worked.
I had seen it before.
In old pictures.
But I never knew where they were taken.
Until now.
"Claire."
I turned.
Adrian was looking at me.
"What?"
"You've been here before."
My face changed.
"No."
"Think."
I shook my head.
"I've never been here."
Then I saw it.
A symbol painted on the side of the hangar.
A circle.
With a line through the middle.
The same symbol I had seen in Daniel's hidden files.
The Black Circle.
My stomach dropped.
Before I could speak, the hangar lights turned on.
One by one.
Someone was inside.
Adrian raised his weapon.
Marcus moved beside him.
Elena stepped behind me.
The large door slowly opened.
I expected an enemy.
I expected a stranger.
I expected someone dangerous.
But I wasn't prepared for the person who walked out.
Because she looked exactly like the girl I had buried twelve years ago.
My sister stopped in front of me.
Her eyes filled with tears.
And the first thing she said was:
"Claire, I'm sorry I let you believe I was dead."
Then she looked past me.
At Adrian.
And whispered:
"He doesn't know the truth about Daniel."
Adrian's expression changed.
"Truth about what?"
My sister looked terrified.
Because behind her, inside the hangar, something moved.
Something that was never supposed to be found.
May you like
And then she said one name...
"Your father."
