CHAPTER 8 — THE WOMAN WHO NEVER EXISTED
Three days later...
Evelyn sat alone in a secure medical facility.
Doctors insisted she rest.
Psychologists wanted interviews.
Investigators demanded statements.
She ignored them all.
Her attention stayed fixed on a small recording recovered from the encrypted drive.
She pressed play.
Static.
Footsteps.
Then a calm woman's voice.
"If you're hearing this... then Project Vulture has failed."
Evelyn stopped breathing.
The voice wasn't unfamiliar.
It was identical to her own.
The recording continued.
"My name is Dr. Eleanor Vale."
"I designed the conditioning program."
"I also destroyed it."
Images flashed across the screen.
Laboratories.
Training compounds.
Children learning languages.
Children learning combat.
Children crying when no one was watching.
Then one final photograph appeared.
Nathan stared in disbelief.
The woman in the picture looked almost identical to Evelyn.
Same eyes.
Same jaw.
Same smile.
Only older.
"Who is she?" Nathan whispered.
Evelyn answered before anyone else could.
"My mother."
Another investigator shook his head.
"That's impossible."
"Officially she died twenty-seven years ago."
Evelyn looked at the photograph.
"No."
"They only wanted everyone to believe she did."
The recording reached its final message.
"If Grace is alive..."
"...tell her I never stopped looking."
Tears filled Evelyn's eyes for the first time since Hangar 7.
All those years...
She had believed she was alone.
Somewhere...
Someone had been searching for her.
Then every monitor in the room suddenly flickered.
A single line of text appeared across every screen.
May you like
HELLO, GRACE.
I'M STILL WAITING.
