Page 64 of Lost Echoes
“Planning a book?”
“A docuseries.”
Kenzi’s sharp intake of breath crackles through the speaker. “You’re serious?”
“She’s serious,” I say. “We’ve been mapping the network, Kenzi. Radley Hospital, North Ridge, Willow Glen. We think they’re still running synchronized programs, and we just found actual evidence.”
Kenzi’s voice firms. “Dr. Hanson’s been telling me the same thing. She wants to build an airtight case before we confront him. According to her, if we go at him without proof, he’ll crush us.”
Billa grips the phone tighter. “Then you need to meet Florencia. The two of them together—your doctor and Florencia—they could build something unstoppable. If they share what they know, if we all do, it’s not just whispers anymore. It’s evidence.”
There’s a pause on the line. I picture Kenzi biting her lip the way she used to. “Could you make that happen?”
Billa’s voice steadies. “Yes. I’ll bring Florencia and you bring Dr. Hanson. We’ll set a meeting somewhere safe. No names, no paper trail. Just the facts.”
Kenzi exhales. “Okay. I’ll ask her. She’s on board with taking Radley down—she just wants it done right. She’s even planning the confrontation, like a last act.”
The phrase makes me shiver. I glance at Billa. We’re both thinking the same thing—performance, wings, final act.
“Kenzi,” I say, leaning closer to the phone, “obviously, we’ll help you. But you have to be careful. Some survivors are compromised. We’ve been talking with some online and one went missing. He might’ve been pulled back in. Maybe with a keyword, like you.”
Her voice goes tight. “She showed me files. It’s been happening a lot.”
“What files?” Billa demands.
“The ones she’s been keeping,” Kenzi says quickly. “Many were in her program years ago… other survivors turned informants. But they’ve been disappearing over the last month. She’s been trying to trace them.”
My breath catches. “So it was a warning?”
“I don’t know,” Kenzi says. “But whatever it is, it means they’re scared. Which means we’re getting close.”
The phone crackles. A muffled voice in the background.
“I have to go,” Kenzi whispers. “Set up the meeting. I’ll tell her what you’ve told me.”
“Stay safe,” Billa says, her voice breaking.
“You too.”
The line goes dead.
Billa lowers the phone slowly, her knuckles white. “This is it,” she murmurs. “We’re not alone.”
“Then let’s make it count.”
I just hope Dr. Sofia Hanson is as trustworthy as Kenzi believes. Otherwise, we could walk into something far more dangerous than before.
32
Ember
The abandoned railway warehouse smells of rust and rain. Boards cover the windows, and the only light comes from a circle of battery lanterns on the concrete floor. Everyone arrived separately, parked blocks away, with no phones on, no real names spoken aloud.
Still, the air hums with paranoia, buzzes with energy.
Billa sits to my right, hands clasped tightly in her lap. Across from her, Florencia keeps her reporter’s notebook closed, eyes scanning the shadows. She looks more like a survivor than a journalist, though I know she’s both.
Next to her, Kenzi sits with her hood up, but I can still see the dark circles under her eyes. It took all of my self-restraint to keep from embracing her to keep the ruse. Tonight we’re making careful plans, and we can’t assume we’re alone. We can’t take any chances.
