Chapter 10 - VAULT 71
Naomi called Evelyn.
No answer.
The monitor showed the woman moving toward Lila.
“Get every officer to that room!” Ortiz shouted.
The image had no sound.
Lila’s eyes opened.
She saw the syringe.
She did not scream.
She rolled from the sofa and pulled the fire alarm beside the door.
Red lights flashed.
The woman spun around.
Evelyn emerged from the bathroom and drove her against the wall.
The syringe fell.
Security officers entered.
Naomi almost collapsed.
Lila had seen the blinking light reflected in a mirror.
She knew someone was watching.
She had refused to remain silent.
When Naomi returned to the hotel, she found her daughter wrapped in a blanket.
Lila ran into her arms.
“You told me cameras remember things.”
“They do.”
“The lady looked like the scarf lady.”
Evelyn led them into the security office.
The arrested woman sat with her left hand on the table.
Two fingers were bent inward.
Detective Ortiz examined them.
Then he pulled.
The damaged fingers slid off.
They were silicone.
A pale edge appeared along the woman’s jaw.
Part of her face was a prosthetic mask.
Her fingerprints identified her as Vera Knox, a stage makeup artist convicted of identity fraud.
“Where is Miriam?” Naomi asked.
“I never met her.”
“Who paid you?”
Vera smiled.
“The groom.”
Naomi’s younger sister Celeste entered in her wedding gown.
Her new husband, Adrian Vale, stood behind her.
Celeste looked at Vera.
“I know that woman.”
Adrian caught her arm.
“You’re exhausted.”
Celeste pulled away.
“I saw her in your apartment.”
Adrian’s face changed.
Ortiz requested his phone.
He refused.
Two officers blocked the exit.
Adrian finally placed it on the table.
The titanium case resembled Warren’s.
On its screen was a childhood photograph.
A young Adrian stood beside Gideon Price.
Celeste stared at it.
“Why are you with our lawyer?”
Adrian said nothing.
Ortiz searched public records.
Adrian Vale had changed his name at twenty-one.
His birth name was Adrian Price.
Gideon’s only son.
Celeste slowly removed her wedding ring.
“Our marriage was part of this.”
Adrian looked at her.
“My feelings were real.”
“That is not an answer.”
His phone began ringing.
May you like
The caller identification contained one word.
FATHER.
