“Then we're going there.”
CHAPTER 9 — ROOM 417
The abandoned military hospital stood behind a perimeter fence near the coast.
Its windows were dark.
The main entrance had been sealed.
A faded sign still displayed the old facility's name.
ATLANTIC MILITARY MEDICAL CENTER.
The hospital had been closed for nearly a decade.
But according to the recovered records, several restricted rooms remained under federal control.
Victoria, David, Sophia, Agent Brooks, and Vanessa Reed arrived shortly after midnight.
David looked at the building.
“Mom came here?”
Ellis had told them that Eleanor had visited the hospital before disappearing.
Victoria nodded.
“According to the records, yes.”
Vanessa held the brass key.
“Room 417 is on the fourth floor.”
They entered through a side access door.
The corridor smelled of dust and old disinfectant.
Their footsteps echoed through the empty building.
At the end of the hallway, a metal sign read:
RESTRICTED MEDICAL RECORDS — AUTHORIZED PERSONNEL ONLY.
Victoria checked her credentials.
The electronic lock remained red.
Vanessa stepped forward.
“Try this.”
She inserted the brass key into a small mechanical slot beneath the panel.
It turned.
A green light appeared.
The door unlocked.
David stared at her.
“How did your mother get a key?”
Vanessa looked at him.
“Maybe she wanted someone to find this place.”
They entered.
Room 417 was smaller than expected.
There was a metal desk, two filing cabinets, and an old computer terminal.
A photograph sat on the desk.
It showed Eleanor Carter standing beside Margaret Reed.
Both women looked younger.
Both were smiling.
Beneath the photograph was a handwritten note.
FOR THE CHILDREN. IF THEY COME TOGETHER, TELL THEM EVERYTHING.
David picked it up.
His hands trembled.
Victoria opened the first filing cabinet.
Inside were dozens of folders.
Each contained a name, a transfer date, and a destination.
Some files were marked PROTECTED.
Others were marked CLOSED.
A few were marked with a red stamp:
DO NOT RELOCATE.
David found a folder bearing his father's name.
THOMAS CARTER — SUBJECT 001.
Victoria opened it.
The first page contained a photograph of Thomas.
The second page listed a series of medical examinations.
The third page contained a transfer order.
Destination: unknown.
Status: active.
David looked at the screen.
“Subject 001?”
Victoria continued reading.
“It's a classification number.”
“What does it mean?”
She opened another folder.
SUBJECT 002 — ELEANOR CARTER.
Then another.
SUBJECT 003 — MARGARET REED.
Vanessa stepped closer.
“My mother was a subject?”
Victoria nodded.
“But the files don't say they were criminals or suspects. They were classified as protected witnesses.”
David stared at the records.
“So our parents were being hidden.”
“Possibly,” Victoria replied.
She continued searching.
Then she found another file.
SUBJECT 004 — DAVID ALEXANDER CARTER.
David froze.
“Why am I in here?”
Victoria opened the folder.
Inside was a photograph of David taken fourteen years earlier.
He looked younger.
His hair was longer.
He was standing beside Robert Ellis outside the military airfield in Virginia.
The attached report contained a handwritten note: