Nia closed her eyes. She remembered their mother sewing the torn paw at the kitchen table. A mistake can become a map if you remember where it began. Wrongway stitches. Zuri typed the phrase.
The countdown stopped at 19 seconds. A recovery question appeared. Where did the map begin? Nia turned the paw over. Under his thumb, Zuri entered the answer.
File preserved. All remote sessions terminated. Zuri released her breath. Officer Hayes looked at Nia. Your mother hid a security code inside a sewing lesson.
She wanted us to remember it without writing it down. Clare watched from the galley. Or someone trained them to access protected files. Nia looked at her. Why does every answer make you blame us again?
Clare had no reply. Officer Mercer returned to the locked floor hatch. Peter Veil, place both hands above your head. I am opening the panel. The voice below answered, "Not while Celeste can see me." Celeste's face remained calm, but one hand moved toward her jacket.
Hayes stopped her, hands on the seat. Mercer positioned Clare's service cart between Celeste and the rear galley. Then he unlocked the panel. A thin man in a torn gray shirt climbed from the darkness. Blood marked one side of his forehead.
He raised both hands immediately. Nia recognized the black shoes from behind the curtain. Peter looked at the twins. You still have Simone's file. Zuri kept the phone close.
Why should we trust you? You shouldn't trust what she left. Officer Hayes searched him. Peter carried no weapon, only a small airport identification card broken into two pieces. The photograph showed him beside Simone Brooks.
Your mother and I investigated altered child travel records. Peter said, "We found 11 cases. Every child disappeared inside an airport, then reappeared after the official handoff time had been changed." "Why?" Zuri asked. Someone was measuring how long it took families to challenge the system. Dr. Lane's face tightened.
My nephew was one of them. Peter nodded. Gate 17. Clare lowered her eyes. Peter explained that Simone had placed the complete evidence inside a protected travel file.
The transmitter hidden in Mr. Buttons was designed to locate it. The replica bracelet's blue stone contained the physical access key. Celeste needed both objects close together, he said. That is why the twins were moved across from her. Officer Mercer faced Celeste.
You staged the theft to activate Simone's file. He is inventing a story to protect himself. Peter held up the broken identification card. She tried to have me declared dead before I could reach Denver. Zuri remembered the unknown messages.
Are you 417? No. Then who warned me? Simone created case 417 as an emergency channel. Someone else opened it this morning.
Who? Only three people knew it existed. Simone, me, and officer Mara Hayes. Every passenger looked toward Hayes. She did not deny knowing the number.