CHAPTER 27 : THE BELL TOWER
Sophie was not inside the church.
Her voice came through Ethan’s phone, which had automatically connected to the building’s wireless system.
She had activated Claire’s emergency device again.
“Where are you?” Ethan asked.
“I don’t know.”
Helena moved toward the microchip.
Reyes blocked her.
A gunshot struck the wooden altar.
Ethan pulled Helena to the floor while Reyes kicked the weapon away.
Helena fought with desperate strength.
“Anna will destroy everything,” she shouted. “You have no idea what those children become without control.”
Reyes handcuffed her.
“They become people.”
Sophie remained on the line.
She explained that she and Ava were inside a room that moved.
Ethan heard an engine beneath her voice.
“A boat?” he asked.
Sophie listened.
“No. The floor shakes differently.”
“A truck,” Reyes said.
Sophie described a bell sound every few minutes.
Ava saw white mountains through a small opening.
Reyes contacted highway patrol.
Only one coastal route passed near white limestone hills and a historic bell tower.
Roadblocks closed within minutes.
The truck driver ignored the first checkpoint.
Police pursued it through a narrow canyon.
Inside the cargo compartment, Sophie held Ava’s hand.
Anna sat across from them.
For the first time, she appeared frightened.
“You were not supposed to make that call,” Anna said.
Sophie kept her voice steady.
“You said you were protecting us.”
“I am.”
“Then why can’t we leave?”
Anna had no answer.
Sophie repeated what she had once told the frightened boy at the center.
“Safe places let you leave.”
The truck struck a barrier and stopped.
Police surrounded it.
Anna looked toward the rear doors.
She could still threaten the children.
She could still use them as leverage.
Instead, she lowered her hands.
When Reyes opened the doors, Sophie ran into Ethan’s arms.
Ava followed.
Anna remained seated.
“Where is the master archive?” Reyes asked.
Anna looked at Sophie.
“She knows.”
Sophie shook her head.
“No. My mother knew.”
Sophie handed Ethan the missing piece from Claire’s wooden map.
She had removed it from Anna’s pocket during the drive.
The microchip Helena tried to steal was a duplicate.
Claire had hidden the real one inside Sophie’s stuffed rabbit years earlier.
Ethan connected it to a secure computer.
A video appeared.
Claire sat beside Thomas Bennett.
Ethan’s father had been recorded shortly before his death.
May you like
Thomas looked into the camera and said:
“Ethan, Harbor was my idea.”
