“Which building?”
“Building C. Near the eastern entrance.”
Victoria wrote it down.
“Who else attends?”
“Two men from the intelligence division. A civilian contractor. Sometimes a woman.”
“What woman?”
Eleanor looked at Victoria.
“She looks like you.”
Victoria stopped writing.
“What?”
“She has blonde hair. Similar height. Similar face.”
Victoria felt a chill run down her back.
“What's her name?”
Eleanor whispered:
“Margaret.”
Victoria stood still.
“My mother?”
“I think so.”
“You think?”
“I only saw her for a few seconds. Charles told me not to ask questions.”
Victoria stared at Eleanor.
“Was she wearing a medical bracelet?”
Eleanor nodded.
“Yes.”
“Did she seem frightened?”
Eleanor hesitated.
Then answered:
“No.”
Victoria frowned.
“What do you mean?”
“She looked angry.”
“Angry?”
“Very angry. She was arguing with Charles.”
Eleanor swallowed.
“I heard her say that he had no right to keep using your name.”
Victoria's eyes narrowed.
“My name?”
Eleanor nodded.
“She said, 'Victoria is not your property.'”
Victoria sat down slowly.
Her mother had been alive.
She had been arguing with Charles.
And she had known that Victoria was being targeted.
Victoria looked at Eleanor.
“Why didn't she contact me?”
Eleanor's eyes filled again.
“Because she said you were the only person who could finish what your father started.”
Victoria felt the words settle heavily in her chest.
“What did my father start?”
Eleanor looked toward the window.
Then she whispered:
“The truth.”
Chapter 3: The Watch
Victoria left the conference room with more questions than answers.
Agent Collins was waiting outside.
“Well?”
“She confirmed that Admiral Whitmore invited me here to retrieve something.”
“What?”
Victoria held up her wrist.
“My watch.”
Collins examined it.
“Has it ever been modified?”
“Not that I know of.”
“Has anyone else examined it?”
“My father gave it to me twelve years ago. I've worn it almost every day.”
Collins looked toward the ballroom.
“Then we should have it examined.”
Victoria hesitated.
“Carefully. It was my father's.”
“Of course.”
He signaled to a female forensic specialist who had been waiting near the entrance.
“Dr. Morgan, could you take a look at this?”
The specialist approached.
“Commander Hayes?”
Victoria nodded.
“I'm Dr. Rachel Morgan. I work with the federal digital evidence unit.”
She examined the watch without touching it.
“Do you mind if I inspect the back?”
Victoria removed it.
Dr. Morgan turned it over.
The engraving was small but clear.
ALWAYS FIND YOUR WAY HOME. — DAD
She examined the casing.
“Interesting.”
“What?”
“There are two tiny screws here that don't match the rest.”
Victoria frowned.
“My father repaired it once.”
“Do you remember when?”
“When I was twenty-three. The strap broke, and the watch stopped working. He took it to a jeweler.”
“Did he ever mention replacing the internal mechanism?”
“No.”
Dr. Morgan held the watch beneath a portable inspection light.
“This casing may have been opened more recently.”
Victoria looked at her.
“Recently?”
“Possibly within the last few years.”
Collins frowned.
“Can you determine whether it contains a tracking device?”
“I can check.”
Dr. Morgan placed the watch inside a small examination enclosure.
She connected a diagnostic device.
A few seconds passed.
Then she looked up.
“There's something inside.”
Victoria leaned forward.
“What?”
“An electronic storage component. Very small.”
Collins stepped closer.
“Can you access it?”
“Not without opening the casing.”
Victoria stared at the watch.
“My father put something inside?”
Dr. Morgan nodded.
“That's what it appears to be.”
Victoria felt a strange mixture of anger and relief.
Her father had left her something.
He had known that one day she might need it.
“Can you tell what's stored on it?”