CHAPTER 47 — THE FAMILY TABLE
Claire entered the red house with Mason beside her.
The others followed carefully.
The children remained outside.
Miriam smiled at Margaret.
“You aged badly.”
Margaret’s hand moved toward her weapon.
Sarah stopped her.
“No. The house is wired.”
Miriam gestured toward the chairs.
“You have brought all my daughters home.”
“We are not your daughters,” Claire said.
“Biology is an unimaginative definition of family.”
Rose placed the engraved bracelet on the table.
“You stole me.”
“I rescued you from an ordinary life.”
“You tortured me.”
“I prepared you.”
Lily hid behind Claire.
Miriam watched her with fascination.
“The singing child remembers me.”
“She remembers being afraid of you,” Claire said.
Miriam’s smile faded.
Daniel walked toward the photographs covering the walls.
One showed him beside a man whose face had been scratched away.
“Who is that?”
“Your original.”
Daniel turned.
“The man who provided your DNA?”
“The man who helped build Gray Tide.”
Miriam pressed a button.
The scratched photograph became clear on a nearby screen.
The man was Mason’s father, Dr. Elias Reed.
Mason stared at the image.
“My father died when I was nine.”
“He designed the memory architecture,” Miriam said. “Then he tried to destroy it.”
Mason aimed at her.
“Where is he?”
“Closer than you think.”
A door opened behind Miriam.
An elderly man sat inside a medical chair.
Mason recognized him immediately.
“Dad?”
Elias Reed opened his eyes.
“Mason, don’t listen to her.”
Miriam placed her hand on his shoulder.
“Elias has spent twenty-six years trying to repair his mistake.”
Elias looked at Claire.
“Gray Tide was never built to replace children.”
“What was it built for?” Claire asked.
“To replace history.”
The iron bell rang.
Every child outside turned toward the ocean tunnel.
A submarine was approaching the station.
Miriam smiled.
“Your father has arrived, Claire.”
Margaret raised her gun.
“My husband is dead.”
Miriam looked at her.
“No. He has simply been living under another name.”
The submarine door opened.
May you like
Deputy Director Ward stepped onto the platform.
Beside her stood Claire’s father.
