CHAPTER 30: The Door That Stayed Open
Sophie stared at the phone.
Laura’s number had been disconnected for years.
Ethan stood beside her.
“Don’t answer.”
Sophie remembered Laura’s letter.
Courage is opening a door after someone has taught you to fear what waits behind it.
She answered.
“Hello?”
For several seconds, no one spoke.
Then a woman whispered, “Sophie?”
Sophie’s knees almost gave way.
The voice was older and weaker than the recordings.
But it was Laura.
Ethan took the phone.
“Who is this?”
The call ended.
Daniel traced the signal.
It came from beneath Blackwood Mountain Lodge.
Not from the known chamber.
From somewhere deeper.
The twenty-four-hour countdown continued.
Federal engineers studied the system.
The release sequence controlled more than doors.
It was connected to remote servers, court databases, trust accounts, and sealed identity records across the country.
When the countdown reached zero, every Northstar file would be released publicly.
“That sounds like a good thing,” Sophie said.
Olivia shook her head.
“Some files contain the current locations of protected children. Foster families. Witnesses. Victims who escaped dangerous people.”
“Releasing everything could get them killed,” Rachel said.
She was herself again, but Daniel kept her away from all control systems.
“What happens if we stop it?” Ethan asked.
The engineer studied the code.
“The records will be permanently erased.”
They faced an impossible choice.
Release the truth and expose the children.
Or destroy the system and allow powerful criminals to escape accountability.
Emily examined the code.
“There may be a third option.”
She pointed toward the unidentified Northstar subject.
“The system requires approval from the original protected child.”
“The child would be an adult now,” Olivia said.
“If she is still alive.”
Sophie looked toward the lower tunnel.
“The woman on the phone knows where she is.”
Ethan refused to let Sophie enter the tunnels again.
Then another message appeared on the screen.
SOPHIE BLACKWOOD AUTHORIZATION REQUIRED.
“She has to come,” Emily said.
Ethan’s expression hardened.
“No.”
“The system is connected to her bloodline.”
“She is a child.”
“So was I when they built my entire life around a secret.”
Sophie stepped between them.
“I’m going.”
Ethan looked at her.
For a moment, he saw the little girl on the balcony again.
Cold.
Terrified.
Waiting for him.
But Sophie was no longer waiting for someone else to open the door.
“I stay beside you,” he said.
They entered the lowest tunnel together.
Daniel, Emily, and Olivia followed.
Rachel remained above with the families.
The passage ended at a steel door marked with a single star.
Sophie placed her hand on the scanner.
The door opened.
Warm air moved through the tunnel.
Beyond it stood a medical facility larger than the center above.
Lights illuminated rows of empty beds.
Fresh food sat on a table.
Someone had been living there.
They heard movement behind a glass wall.
Ethan raised his flashlight.
A woman stood on the other side.
She was thin.
Her dark hair contained streaks of gray.
Scars covered one side of her face.
But Ethan recognized her.
The shape of her eyes.
The way she held one hand against her chest.
The small silver chain around her neck.
“Laura,” he whispered.
The woman stepped closer to the glass.
Sophie could not breathe.
“Mom?”
Laura lifted one trembling hand.
Her lips moved.
But the glass blocked her voice.
Emily found an intercom button.
Before she could press it, Elias appeared behind Laura.
He placed one hand on her shoulder.
Ethan moved toward the glass.
“Get away from her!”
Elias smiled.
Laura shook her head desperately.
She pointed toward the floor beneath Sophie.
A red light activated.
The door behind them closed.
Gas began entering the chamber.
Daniel rushed toward the control panel.
“It’s locked!”
Elias pressed the intercom from the other side.
“You wanted the truth,” he said.
“Now decide which truth you can survive.”
Sophie looked at Laura.
“Why didn’t you come home?”
Laura pressed her hand against the glass.
Tears moved down her face.
“I tried.”
Ethan struck the barrier.
“Open the door!”
Elias looked toward the countdown displayed on the wall.
Twenty-three hours remained.
“Noah was wrong about one thing,” Elias said. “The person inside the center wasn’t helping me.”
“Then who were they helping?” Emily asked.
Elias turned toward Laura.
“The original Northstar.”
A second glass door opened behind him.
A woman entered the room.
She wore a gold star bracelet.
She looked almost identical to Rachel.
But she was older.
And when Laura saw her, she backed away in terror.
The woman approached the intercom.
“My name is Rebecca Gray,” she said.
Sophie looked toward the closed chamber door.
“Rachel said that used to be her name.”
The woman smiled.
“No.”
She placed her hand against the glass directly opposite Sophie.
“Rachel was given my name.”
The lights shut off.
In the darkness, Sophie heard Laura scream.
Then a child’s voice spoke from somewhere beneath the floor.
“Please don’t let them wake her.”
A final message appeared on the countdown screen:
May you like
PRIMARY NORTHSTAR SUBJECT AWAKENING.
TIME REMAINING: 22:59:59
