Chapter 28
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The dense forest provided a chaotic maze of ancient trees and thorny underbrush, slowing the heavily armored enforcers just enough for Vivienne and the others to slip away. By the time they reached the main highway, completely exhausted and covered in mud, the sound of pursuit had faded into the storm.
A passing state trooper, alerted by Laura’s frantic flagging, picked them up and transported them to the safety of a heavily fortified police precinct downtown.
Sitting in a sterile interrogation room converted into a temporary command center, Vivienne finally placed the ruined ledger on the metal table.
"We lost the element of surprise," Richard said, pacing the length of the room. "Malcolm knows we breached St. Agnes. He knows we have the Omega records."
"Then we have to strike before he can relocate the remaining pieces of this puzzle," Laura stated, wrapping a bandage around the cut on her cheek. "Vivienne, what else did you find in that book about the second child?"
Vivienne carefully opened the damp ledger, turning to the page assigned to Grace Ellis.
"Subject Two's name was redacted," Vivienne read closely, holding the page under the bright fluorescent light. "But there is a relocation code written in the margins. It says 'Vanguard-44'."
Samuel frowned, leaning over the table. "Vanguard-44? That’s not a medical code. That sounds like a safe house designation."
"It's a banking protocol," Richard realized, his eyes widening. "Malcolm used the Vanguard routing system to launder money through shell corporations in the nineties. Vanguard-44 was an offshore account tied to a specific property."
"Do you know the property?" Laura asked immediately.
"I do," Richard nodded. "It's a decommissioned lighthouse on the rocky coast of Maine. Malcolm bought it decades ago but never developed the land. He claimed it was a bad investment."
"It wasn't a bad investment," Vivienne whispered, realizing the truth. "It was a hiding place. Grace Ellis took the second child to the lighthouse."
"If Theodore staged the scene at Grace's house today to lead us to St. Agnes, then he wants us to find the second child next," Samuel said, checking the action on his pistol. "He’s pointing us to Maine."
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"Then that’s where we go," Vivienne said, closing the ledger with a definitive thud. "We are going to find my brother."
"We leave in ten minutes," Laura ordered, grabbing the keys to an unmarked tactical vehicle. "Malcolm’s enforcers won't be far behind."
