Chapter 3

I waited until Gideon's snores shook the house and Hester had gone to her house nearby.

It was time.

I crept toward Mum’s bedroom door; she and Gideon had slept separately for years.

She was sitting by the window, staring out at nothing. Her hands were wrapped in bandages from tonight's beating.

"Mum," I whispered.

She turned, startled. "Lyra? What are you doing up?"

I closed the door behind me and sat on the edge of her bed.

"I need to ask you something."

Her entire body went rigid.

I pulled out the printed pages I'd hidden in my school bag. Articles about the missing scientist. Photos of a brilliant young woman in graduation robes.

"Are you Dr. Vivienne Ashcroft?" I asked quietly. "The famous epidemiologist who disappeared twenty years ago."

The blood drained from her face.

"How did you..." she whispered, then caught herself. "I don't know what you're talking about."

"Mum, please. I've seen the articles. The photos. You were studying viral mutations when you vanished."

She grabbed my wrists, her grip desperate.

"You can't tell Gideon. Promise me you won't tell him. If he knows that you know..."

"He'll what? Beat you more than he already does?"

Tears started streaming down her face.

I stared at her, my heart breaking.

"So you do remember."

She nodded slowly.

"I remember everything. My research. My life before. But no one had looked for me." Her voice cracked. "I remember who I used to be."

"Then why didn't you try to escape?"

She looked at me with such pain in her eyes that I almost couldn't bear it.

"At first, I was too injured when he brought me down from the mountain."

I felt sick.

"Then I got pregnant. With you. And he said if I ever tried to leave, he'd throw you off the cliffs."

"But after I was born—"

"After you were born, I tried twice." She rolled up her sleeves, showing me scars I'd never noticed before. "Both times, he caught me before I reached the village boundary. Both times, he made sure I understood the consequences."

She touched my face gently.

"I couldn't risk your life. So I learned to pretend. Pretend I was brain-damaged. Pretend I couldn't read. Pretend I didn't know about the world beyond these mountains."

"And the eye problems?"

"I can see fine. But if I acted blind, people stopped expecting things from me. Stopped asking questions."

The door suddenly burst open without warning.

Both of us jumped, our hearts nearly stopping.

Hester stood there in her nightgown, her face red with anger.

"I knew it! I knew you two were up to something!"

She stomped into the room, pointing an accusing finger at us.

"Planning to run away, are you? Think you can just abandon my son after everything he's done for you?"

Mum quickly tried to hide the papers, but Hester had already seen them.

"What's all this nonsense then? Pictures and fancy papers?"

She grabbed one of the articles and squinted at it.

"Dr. Vivienne... some rubbish about scientists. You filling this girl's head with fairy tales?"

Hester threw the papers down in disgust.

"Think you're someone special, do you? Think you can just waltz out of here and leave Gideon with all those gambling debts?"

She moved closer to Mum, her voice getting louder.

"My Gideon saved your worthless life! Found you half-dead on that mountain and nursed you back to health for years. Fed you, clothed you, gave you a roof."

Mum shrank back, automatically falling into her submissive posture.

"I'm grateful, Hester. I would never—"

"You think you can repay his kindness by running off like some ungrateful woman?"

Hester jabbed her finger at Mum's chest.

"He owes eight thousand pounds because he's been taking care of you all these years! And now you want to abandon him?"

Mum's shoulders slumped completely.

"You're right," she whispered, all the fight draining out of her. "I'm sorry. I wouldn't leave. Gideon saved me. I owe him everything."

"That's right, you do! And you'll stay put and do your duty like a proper woman should."

Hester turned her fury on me.

"And you, girl! Filling your mother's head with these stupid dreams. You should be grateful Gideon found you a husband. Callahan's boy is more than trash like you deserves."

I felt rage building inside me as Hester continued her tirade.

"So don't think either of you are going anywhere. Gideon needs that marriage to clear his debts, and by God, you'll—"

While she ranted, I quietly reached for the ceramic water pitcher beside Mum's bed.

"You'll stay here and be grateful for what you have instead of chasing after some ridiculous—"

I swung the pitcher as hard as I could.

It connected with the back of Hester's head with a sickening thud.

She collapsed to the floor without another word.

Mum stared at me in shock. "Lyra! What have you done?"

"What I had to do." I knelt down and checked Hester's breathing. Still alive, but completely unconscious.

"She'll be out for hours."

Mum was trembling, staring at Hester's crumpled form.

"This is your chance. Hester was right about one thing - Gideon will never let you go willingly. This is our only opportunity."

"But I can't just leave you—"

"You have to! Don't you see? You're not crazy. You're not worthless. You're Dr. Vivienne Ashcroft!"

I rushed to Gideon's room and grabbed the money and documents while Mum stood frozen.

When I returned, she was still staring at Hester.

"Mum, you have a life out there. Your families. A career, a future - everything Gideon stole from you."

Tears streamed down her face. "What if Gideon hurts you because of this?"

"If you don't leave, we're doomed. Once you're out, you can get help for both of us."

She still hesitated, wringing her hands and glancing toward the door.

"You shouldn't be trapped here forever because of me."