Chapter 7: The Mother Who Was Never Gone
I couldn’t breathe.
The voice on the phone repeated my name.
“Anna?””
I stood frozen in Evelyn’s office, unable to move, unable to speak.
Because there was only one voice in the world that could make me feel eight years old again.
One voice that could bring back memories I had buried.
My mother singing while cooking dinner.
My mother cheering louder than anyone at my competitions.
My mother whispering that I was stronger than anyone who doubted me.
But my mother was gone.
She had been gone for years.
I looked at Evelyn.
Her face had lost all color.
She knew.
That was the first thing I noticed.
She knew who was on the phone.
My grip tightened.
“Mom?””
The word barely escaped.
The woman on the other end gasped.
A broken, emotional sound.
“Yes.””
My knees almost gave out.
“Yes, Anna.””
I covered my mouth.
A thousand questions rushed through my head.
But only one came out.
“You’re alive?””
Silence.
Then a quiet sob.
“Yes.””
The room felt like it was spinning.
I looked at Evelyn.
“You knew.””
It wasn’t a question.
It was an accusation.
Evelyn looked away.
And that hurt more than anything.
“You knew my mother was alive.””
Her eyes filled with tears.
“Anna…”
“No.””
My voice shook.
“No, don’t explain it yet.””
I turned away from her.
“I need to hear this from her.””
I held the phone closer.
“Mom?””
“I’m here.””
“Where have you been?””
The silence on the other end was unbearable.
Then she answered.
“Trying to keep you safe.””
I closed my eyes.
Everyone said the same thing.
Safe.
Protected.
Shielded.
But nobody understood what it felt like to be the person left behind.
“Do you know what I thought?””
My voice cracked.
“I thought I lost you.””
My mother started crying.
“I know.””
“No, you don’t.””
The words came faster.
“You missed my first national competition.””
A pause.
“You missed my biggest victories.””
Another pause.
“You missed every time I needed you.””
Her breathing trembled.
“I know.””
The pain in her voice almost made me stop.
Almost.
But fifteen years of questions had been waiting.
“Why?””
That single word carried everything.
Why leave?
Why hide?
Why let me grieve?
Why make me believe I was alone?
“Because Daniel found us.””
The anger disappeared.
“What?””
My mother’s voice became quieter.
“He found out your father had collected evidence against him.””
I looked at the flash drive on the desk.
“He was looking for the files.””
“Yes.””
“And you ran?””
“Yes.””
I frowned.
“But why pretend you died?””
My mother didn’t answer immediately.
When she did, her voice broke.
“Because Daniel was watching your family.””
The room became silent.
“My family?””
“Yes.””
She took a shaky breath.
“He knew your father would never give up protecting you. He knew I would never stop looking for a way back to you.””
“Then why leave me?””
The question hurt both of us.
“I didn’t.””
My eyebrows pulled together.
“What?””
“I never left you, Anna.””
I looked at Evelyn.
Then back at the phone.
“What does that mean?””
My mother’s voice softened.
“I was there.””
The words confused me.
“Where?””
“Your competitions.””
I stopped.
“No.””
“Yes.””
“No.””
My voice became louder.
“I would have seen you.””
“You saw me.””
I froze.
“What?””
She cried softly.
“I was in the crowd.””
My heart pounded.
“No.””
“Yes.””
I remembered.
Random faces.
Strangers.
People who came and went.
I remembered one woman who always sat near the back.
A woman who cried whenever I finished a routine.
A woman I never paid attention to.
Because why would I?
My mother was gone.
She couldn’t be there.
Could she?
“She was never gone,” Evelyn whispered.
I turned.
I had forgotten she was still in the room.
My mother heard.
“Evelyn?””
“Yes.””
My mother’s voice changed.
Anger.
Not loud.
But real.
“You promised me.””
Evelyn looked down.
“I know.””
“You promised Anna would never know until we had proof.””
“I know.””
I stared between them.
“You both made promises.””
Neither answered.
“And both of you decided I couldn’t handle the truth.””
“Anna—”
“No.””
My voice was quiet now.
That was when people knew I was truly angry.
“I spent years thinking nobody believed in me.””
I looked at Evelyn.
“I thought you left because you gave up.””
Then the phone.
“I thought you were dead.””
My voice broke.
“I had to learn how to live without you.””
My mother cried.
“I’m sorry.””
Those two words.
They should have fixed something.
They didn’t.
Not completely.
Because apologies could explain pain.
They couldn’t erase it.
“What happened to Dad?””
The line went silent.
That silence told me everything.
My mother knew.
“Mom.””
“He’s alive.””
I stopped.
Again.
Another impossible truth.
“What?””
“He’s alive, Anna.””
I sat down.
The world had officially stopped making sense.
“Where?””
My mother hesitated.
“I don’t know.””
“You don’t know?””
“He disappeared after finding the evidence.””
“Then how do you know he’s alive?””
“Because Daniel knows.””
I frowned.
“That doesn’t make sense.””
“It does if you understand Daniel.””
My mother’s voice became serious.
“He doesn’t destroy things he thinks are valuable.””
I felt sick.
“What are you saying?””
“He keeps them.””
The words sent a chill through me.
“You think Daniel has Dad?””
“I think Daniel knows where he is.””
The phone went quiet.
Then my mother said something else.
Something that made me sit up.
“Anna, there’s something you need to understand.””
“What?””
“Daniel didn’t come back because of your performance.””
I looked at the photo he sent.
“The timing…”
“It’s not a coincidence.””
“Then why?””
My mother’s voice lowered.
“Because you reached a level he never thought you could reach.””
I didn’t understand.
“He underestimated you.””
A pause.
“And now he needs something from you.””
“What?””
“The thing your father spent years hiding.””
I looked at the flash drive.
“What is it?””
My mother took a shaky breath.
“The original research data.””
My stomach tightened.
“Research data?””
“Yes.””
“The information about me?””
“Yes.””
I looked at Evelyn.
She nodded slowly.
“But why would Dad hide it?””
My mother answered:
“Because it wasn’t just about you.””
A chill moved through me.
“What else?””
“Other children.””
The same words Evelyn had said.
Other children.
“Daniel didn’t just collect information about one child.””
My mother’s voice became heavy.
“He built an entire program.””
I stood.
“A program for what?””
Silence.
Then:
“For creating the perfect adaptive athlete.””
I felt anger rise.
“I’m not an experiment.””
“No.””
My mother’s voice was fierce.
“You never were.””
For the first time, I heard the woman who used to stand in my corner.
The woman who fought every battle for me.
“You were my daughter before you were anything else.””
A tear fell.
I hated that it did.
But this time, I didn’t wipe it away.
Because underneath the anger was something else.
Relief.
My mother was alive.
My father might be alive.
But there was still one problem.
Daniel.
The man who had watched me.
The man who believed he owned my story.
“What do we do now?””
My mother was quiet.
Then she said:
“We find your father.””
I nodded.
“Okay.””
But before I could say anything else, a loud crash came from outside Evelyn’s office.
We all froze.
Evelyn looked toward the door.
Someone was inside the building.
Footsteps moved through the hallway.
Slow.
Calm.
Confident.
Like whoever it was had no reason to hide.
My mother whispered through the phone.
“Anna?””
“Yes?””
Her voice trembled.
“Don’t let him see the flash drive.””
I looked down.
It was gone.
My blood turned cold.
I searched the desk.
The folder.
The chair.
Nothing.
Then I heard a voice from the hallway.
A voice I recognized.
Daniel.
“Evelyn.””
The footsteps stopped outside the door.
“Open the door.””
Evelyn stepped in front of me.
But her eyes weren’t on Daniel.
They were on me.
And she whispered:
“Anna…”
I looked at her.
“What?””
Her face was filled with fear.
“He didn’t come for the flash drive.””
May you like
The door handle began to turn.
“He came for you.””
