Chapter 10 - The Last Witness
The rain finally began to fall as their car pulled up in front of a modest, brick-faced retirement home on the edge of the district. The glowing neon sign buzzed softly against the damp autumn air: St. Jude’s Senior Residence.
Inside the lobby, the smell of floor wax and old paper hung thick. The night nurse gave them a curious look before pointing down the dim hallway to Room 214.
“She’s awake, but she doesn't take visitors after midnight,” the nurse warned.
“She’ll take us,” Daniel said, flashing a quiet, authoritative card that made the nurse look twice and look away.
They stopped outside Room 214. Emma took a deep breath, her fingers tightening around the green metal box one last time.
Daniel knocked twice on the heavy wooden door.
A frail voice called out from inside. “If it’s the medication nurse again, I told you I already took the blue pill.”
Daniel pushed the door open.
Sitting in a floral armchair by the window was an elderly woman with sharp, intelligent eyes and silver hair pulled back into a tight bun. She looked up from a crossword puzzle, her gaze shifting from Daniel to Noah, and finally resting on Emma.
The old woman froze.
Her breath caught in her throat. She gripped the arms of her chair so hard her knuckles turned white.
“Clara?” the old woman whispered, her voice trembling.
“No,” Emma said softly, stepping into the room. “I’m her daughter. My name is Emma.”
May you like
The elderly woman—Martha Vance, former head archivist of the St. Jude mills and the woman who had signed the original audit sixty years ago—stared at Emma’s face, then down at the yellow-threaded hem of her dress. Tears welled up in the old woman’s eyes.
“I knew someone would come back,” Martha whispered, reaching out a trembling hand. “I kept the key.”
