CHAPTER 4 — "The Woman They Thought Was Helpless"
Maria's entire body went numb.
"Gone?"
"What do you mean gone?"
The Director grabbed the radio.
"Report!"
A frantic voice answered through heavy static.
"Unknown armed men entered the hospital less than ten minutes ago. Security guards were knocked unconscious. Room 417 is empty."
Maria felt like the world had collapsed.
"My mother..."
"No..."
She tried to run toward the nearest vehicle.
The Director stopped her.
"If you leave now, you'll die."
"They're expecting exactly that."
Maria shook him away.
"They have my mother!"
"I don't care!"
Before she could move again, another black SUV sped into the scene.
Several agents jumped out escorting an elderly nurse whose hands were still trembling.
The nurse immediately recognized Maria.
"Thank God..."
"I found this under your mother's pillow."
She handed over a small sealed envelope.
Maria frowned.
"My mother wrote this?"
The nurse nodded.
"She told me that if anyone ever came looking for her..."
"...I should only give this to you."
With shaking fingers, Maria opened the envelope.
Inside was a faded photograph.
It showed her as a little girl standing beside her mother...
...and a man whose face had been deliberately torn away.
Behind the photograph was a handwritten sentence.
Trust no one... especially Daniel.
There was also a brass key.
Attached to it was a tiny metal tag.
Locker 118. Union Central Station.
The Director carefully examined the key.
"This changes everything."
Maria looked at him.
"What is it?"
He took a deep breath.
"I've seen keys like this before."
"They were used by witnesses placed into federal protection decades ago."
Maria frowned.
"My mother was just a school teacher."
The Director slowly shook his head.
"No."
"I don't think she was."
One of the agents suddenly rushed over carrying a tablet.
"Sir..."
"You need to see this immediately."
Satellite cameras had captured three black helicopters lifting off from an abandoned industrial complex outside the city.
The same place where investigators believed the criminal syndicate operated.
One helicopter.
Two helicopters.
Then a third.
All heading toward the mountains.
The Director zoomed in.
His eyes widened.
Inside one helicopter sat Maria's mother.
Her hands were tied.
But she wasn't crying.
She wasn't panicking.
Instead...
She looked directly into one of the cameras mounted inside the aircraft...
...and smiled.
Not the smile of a frightened hostage.
The smile of someone who had been waiting for this moment for over twenty years.
The Director whispered in disbelief,
"My God..."
"She let herself be captured."
Maria stared at the screen, unable to understand.
Then the Director turned toward her with a look she would never forget.
May you like
"I think your mother has been lying to you your entire life..."
"...and whatever is inside Locker 118 may be worth killing hundreds of people to obtain."
