The woman in the chair slowly turned around.

It wasn’t Patricia.

It was someone else entirely.

Someone I had believed was dead.

“Hello, Morgan,” she said, her voice soft and familiar.

“It’s been a long time.”

My hand holding the gun began to shake.

The final piece of the puzzle had just fallen into place.

And the picture was more terrifying than I could have ever imagined.

“Mother?” I whispered.

She smiled, holding the baby closer to her chest.

“We have a lot to talk about,” she said.

The door behind us clicked shut, the lock turning with a final, heavy sound.

I was trapped in the room with the people who had orchestrated my entire life.

The fire crackled, casting long, dancing shadows across the wooden walls.

My mother smiled, her fingers gently stroking the pink blanket.

“We have a lot to talk about, Captain,” she said.

Behind me, the door clicked open.

The cold wind rushed into the room, and a shadow stepped across the threshold.

I turned, my gun raised, my eyes widening as the lantern light caught the newcomer’s face.