Chapter 7: Isabel
Nobody moved.
The young woman stood beneath the emergency light.
She looked about thirty.
Dark hair fell over one shoulder.
Rainwater glistened on her coat.
Around her neck hung a small silver pendant.
The same pendant from the photograph.
My granddaughter.
The thought was almost too painful to hold.
I whispered, "Isabel?""
Her eyes filled with tears.
"You know my name.""
"I've been waiting for you my whole life.""
She shook her head.
"You didn't know I existed.""
"I was told you died.""
Her face tightened.
"Who told you that?""
"Marlene.""
Isabel laughed bitterly.
"Of course she did.""
Victor stepped between us.
"How do we know you're really Isabel?""
She looked at him.
"You don't.""
Her gaze dropped to his pendant.
"But your father would.""
Victor went still.
"Where is Elijah?""
She looked toward Room 17.
"He wants to see you.""
My heart hammered.
"He's here?""
"He was.""
Victor's jaw tightened.
"You said was.""
"He's being moved.""
"By whom?""
"By people who have been moving him for thirty-nine years.""
I took a step.
"Why didn't he come home?""
Isabel's eyes met mine.
"Because every time he tried, someone threatened to kill you.""
The hallway seemed to sway.
"How many times?""
"Three.""
Victor's face hardened.
"He tried to come back three times?""
"Yes.""
"When?""
"The first time, when I was six.""
"The second?""
"When I was thirteen.""
"And the third?""
Isabel looked at me.
"Last month.""
I covered my mouth.
"Last month?""
"He finally believed the people watching you had disappeared.""
Victor's voice was quiet.
"Then Marlene came back.""
Isabel nodded.
"She's never been gone.""
A door slammed somewhere downstairs.
Mason shouted:
"Move!""
Victor grabbed my hand.
"We're leaving.""
Isabel blocked the stairwell.
"Not that way.""
"Why?""
"Because they're waiting there.""
Victor studied her.
"How do you know?""
She reached into her coat and pulled out a small device.
"Because I put a tracker on their car.""
She showed him a blinking red dot.
"There are six men outside.""
Victor smiled faintly.
"Only six?""
Isabel almost laughed.
Then she noticed him smiling.
"You're Victor.""
"Yes.""
"My father has talked about you.""
Victor stopped.
"What did he say?""
"That he was sorry.""
Victor looked away.
"That's all?""
"No.""
She hesitated.
"That he was proud of you.""
Something broke across Victor's face.
He turned his head so I wouldn't see.
But I saw.
I saw the tears.
I reached for his arm.
"He's alive.""
Victor nodded.
"I know.""
Isabel looked at me.
"He wanted to meet you before anything happened.""
"What happened?""
"Someone found him.""
"Where?""
"A farmhouse outside town.""
Victor's phone buzzed.
He read a message.
His eyes narrowed.
"What?""
He turned the screen toward Isabel.
A location.
A photo.
Elijah tied to a chair.
Blood on his shirt.
My knees nearly collapsed.
"No.""
Victor caught me.
Isabel's face changed.
"They moved him faster than I thought.""
"Who?""
She stared at the photograph.
"Calvin.""
My stomach dropped.
"Calvin?""
"He's been working for them.""
"I knew he was stealing from me, but...""
"He wasn't stealing the diner.""
She paused.
"He was looking for something hidden inside it.""
"What?""
Isabel walked toward me.
"A book.""
"The ledger?""
"No.""
She touched my walker.
"Something Elijah left for you.""
I stared at her.
"What?""
She looked toward the basement.
"A black notebook.""
My heart raced.
"I've never seen it.""
"You were never supposed to.""
Victor frowned.
"Where is it?""
Isabel lowered her voice.
"Under the floor.""
My gaze shifted.
"The kitchen?""
She nodded.
"Behind the old freezer.""
I remembered the freezer.
It had been there since 1989.
I had moved it only once.
Never since.
Victor looked at Mason.
"Get the truck.""
Mason left.
Victor turned to Isabel.
"Why are you helping us?""
She looked directly at me.
"Because my father asked me to.""
"And why should we trust you?""
"Because I spent my entire childhood believing my grandmother chose money over us.""
I flinched.
"What?""
Isabel's voice trembled.
"Marlene told me you knew where my father was.""
"I didn't.""
"I know that now.""
She touched the pendant.
"My father told me the truth.""
"Then why didn't he come home?""
"He was afraid you'd reject him.""
I stared.
"Reject him?""
"He believed you hated what he'd become.""
"I could never hate him.""
Her eyes filled again.
"I told him that.""
"Does he know I'm here?""
"Yes.""
"How?""
"He saw you on the security feed.""
Victor looked confused.
"At the diner?""
Isabel nodded.
"He saw the bikers.""
"And me?""
"Especially you.""
My heart cracked.
"What did he say?""
She smiled sadly.
"He said, 'That's my mother.''"
I began crying.
Victor quietly turned away.
Then headlights flashed through the lobby windows.
Mason's voice came through Victor's earpiece.
"Boss, they're here.""
Victor looked at Isabel.
"Can you get us out another way?""
She nodded.
"Service tunnel.""
We moved quickly.
Isabel led us through a storage room and down a narrow staircase.
Halfway down, I heard engines outside.
Victor glanced at me.
"Can you keep moving?""
I nodded.
"I've outrun worse men than your bikers.""
A surprised smile crossed his face.
"You really are my grandmother.""
We reached the kitchen.
Victor and Isabel moved the old freezer.
Dust filled the air.
Beneath it was a loose floorboard.
My heart pounded.
Victor pried it up.
Inside was a black metal box.
No lock.
He lifted the lid.
Inside lay a notebook.
And a single envelope.
My name was written across it.
*Evelyn.*
I opened it with shaking hands.
The first sentence made my blood run cold.
*Mom, the person who ordered my disappearance has been sitting at your table for decades.*
Victor stared at the page.
"Who?""
I turned the page.
May you like
The next sentence answered him.
*It's not Marlene.*
