Chapter 18 - The Children

Ethan wanted to stay in the hospital room. Every part of him wanted to keep the door shut and protect what he'd gotten back. But in the photo, small hands were pressed against the blacked-out bus windows.

“Call the police,” his mother said.

“We did,” Mia replied. “The message came from inside their evidence system. Somebody's warning us before the move.”

Jasmine arrived with a stack of printed records from the Archive. One name kept surfacing: Harbor House, a private residential school funded by charities tied to Ashford.

“It's registered as a treatment center,” she said. “No public tours. No family visits.”

Nora joined them with Eli, who had decided to cooperate in exchange for protection. He studied the photo for a long time.

“I drove that bus,” he admitted. “I thought they were taking the kids to another campus.”

“Did you know?” Nora asked.

“No.” His voice cracked. “But I should've asked.”

The team gave the location to federal agents. This time they didn't charge in alone. Ethan stayed in the mobile command van with Mia and Jasmine while agents surrounded Harbor House at dawn. Through live camera feeds they watched the doors open and a line of children emerge, blinking in the cold light.

One little boy ran toward an agent and asked if he was allowed to keep his own name.

Jasmine covered her mouth.

The operation uncovered dozens of children who had been trained to impersonate relatives of wealthy families or future witnesses. Some had been missing for years. Social workers moved them to safe facilities as investigators searched the grounds.

Ethan thought it might finally be over. Then an agent radioed from the basement.

“We found a sealed records room. Need you to identify one item.”

Inside the van, a photo appeared on the monitor: a binder labeled CROSS FAMILY / PHASE ONE.

Mia turned white.

“What?” Ethan asked.

She sat slowly. “Ethan, there's something I didn't tell you. Victor didn't pick us because I found his files.”

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“Then why?”

She looked at the binder and whispered, “Because he knew Dad.”