“Evelyn, there are things about your past you don't know.”
“Then start explaining.”
Catherine glanced toward the security cameras.
“Not here.”
Evelyn stepped closer.
“I'm not going anywhere with you.”
Catherine nodded.
“I expected you to say that.”
She reached into her handbag.
Agent Mitchell immediately raised her hand.
“Stop. Keep your hands visible.”
Catherine slowly removed a small photograph.
She held it between two fingers.
Evelyn looked at it.
It showed two little girls standing beside an older woman in a garden.
Both girls had dark hair.
Both wore matching dresses.
One was smiling.
The other was looking directly at the camera.
Evelyn recognized the older woman.
Her mother.
But she had never seen the second child.
Catherine placed the photograph on the reception desk.
“Your mother told you that you were an only child.”
Evelyn looked at her.
“Yes.”
Catherine shook her head.
“She lied.”
Thomas stepped forward.
“Evelyn, Catherine is your twin sister.”
The lobby fell silent.
Evelyn stared at the photograph.
Then at Catherine.
Then back at Thomas.
“No.”
Catherine's expression softened.
“I know this is difficult.”
“No.”
“Evelyn—”
“Don't say my name.”
Catherine stopped.
Evelyn picked up the photograph.
Her fingers trembled slightly.
“Why didn't I know?”
Thomas answered.
“Because your family was part of a protection arrangement.”
“What protection arrangement?”
He looked toward the security cameras.
“The operation that started eleven years ago wasn't just about missing evidence.”
“Then what was it about?”
Thomas's voice dropped.
“It was about an identity.”
Evelyn looked at him.
“What identity?”
Thomas leaned closer.
“Someone inside the government had been living under another person's name for more than twenty years.”
Evelyn's eyes narrowed.
“Who?”
Thomas glanced toward Catherine.
Then back at Evelyn.
“Your mother.”
Chapter 13 — The Secret in Her Family
Evelyn couldn't move.
Her mother had died fourteen years earlier.
She remembered the funeral. The hospital. The last conversation they had.
She remembered her mother telling her that the family had survived difficult years, but that the past should remain buried.
She had never understood what she meant.
Now Thomas Reed was telling her that her mother had been living under a false identity.
“That's impossible,” Evelyn whispered.
Catherine shook her head.
“It's true.”
“Who was she?”
“Our mother was born under another name.”
“Why?”
“Because she witnessed something.”
“What?”
Catherine looked toward Thomas.
He answered.
“A government operation that involved the disappearance of evidence, the transfer of seized assets, and the unlawful detention of several witnesses.”
Evelyn shook her head.
“My mother was a teacher.”
“She was also a federal records analyst.”
Evelyn stared at him.
“What?”
Thomas continued.
“Before you were born, she worked in a federal office that handled evidence transfers. She discovered that several case files were being altered after they had been officially closed.”
“Why didn't she report it?”
“She did.”
“And?”
“She was told to stop.”
Catherine spoke softly.
“She refused.”
Evelyn looked at her.
“What happened?”
“Our mother disappeared for six months. When she returned, she had a new identity, a new address, and a new life.”
“Who arranged it?”
Thomas looked toward the lobby entrance.
“Someone who is still powerful.”
Evelyn's phone vibrated.
A new message appeared.
DO NOT TRUST THE WOMAN.
She looked at the screen.
Then at Catherine.
“Who sent this?”
Catherine's face changed.
“Show me.”
Evelyn handed her the phone.
Catherine read the message.
Then she looked at Thomas.
He nodded slowly.
“It's started.”
Evelyn took the phone back.
“What has started?”
Thomas answered.
“The final phase of the operation.”
“What operation?”
“The one your mother was trying to stop.”
Evelyn looked at both of them.
“Enough riddles. I want names.”
Thomas lowered his voice.