Chapter 21 #2
Liam’s shoulders slouched a touch at her words, the anger toward Maria shriveling somewhat.
“It’s not your fault.” Emily found Maria’s eyes. “Can you start from the beginning—from when Elaina came into your care up until her disappearance? Any detail might help.”
“Do you need to take notes?” Maria asked.
“I’ll remember.” Liam sat back down, but he clutched the chair arms so hard they were probably on the verge of snapping off.
Emily returned her focus to Maria. “He has a great memory.”
“Sounds like Elaina.” She reached for a framed photo on her desk and stared at it.
“I’ve known Elaina’s mother, Talia, for years.
We have similar research interests in biochemistry and neurology, but she’s always been light-years ahead of me.
I could never keep up with her mind. How fast she could think through a problem and then solve it.
” She sighed. “But Elaina,” she said while tapping a finger at the picture and smiling, “she’s even smarter.
Her mind is exquisite. Like a work of art.
” She repositioned the photo back in its previous place.
Elaina was more than smart, though. Her heart and soul were out of this world. “I bet she’s a special kid.”
“She is, and Talia realized she might also be able to help with our work.”
“Help how?” Liam asked, a bite to his voice.
“Talia and I were working on a project to try and find a way to repair brain activity in regard to memory loss. Talia began to study Elaina, to observe her brain while she engaged in challenging memory exercises, for instance. She believed somewhere inside Elaina was the answer to helping others restore lost memories,” she explained, excitement now replacing the somberness of her tone.
“Were you successful?” Emily asked, but the idea of performing tests on Elaina also had her stomach on the verge of a revolt against the bagel she’d had for breakfast.
“The tests were too much for Elaina, so her mother stopped them. But we were on the cusp of something big, I could feel it. After Talia died in the accident, our lab—”
“Did you continue to use Elaina?” Liam was back on his feet, a roar to his voice.
Emily stood and gripped the back of his shirt, trying to get him to sit again, worried he was two seconds from going Hulk on the woman.
“I never supported Talia’s decision to use Elaina, so no, I did not resume tests. But I did ask someone to have a look at the data collected with a fresh set of eyes.” She looked toward the ceiling, and a flood of shame crossed her face.
“What’d you do?” Emily let go of Liam’s shirt, a harsh and defensive anger zipping up her spine.
“I called Hans Zimmermann. He used to be a friend of Talia’s.
I asked if he could fly down and help. He said no, at first, angry at Talia for ending their friendship a while back.
But I begged and pleaded, and when I explained more about the project and how we might be able to fulfill Talia’s lifelong dream, well, he agreed to come for a weekend.
He had a bodyguard with him, though. He said it was because of his job. ”
“And do you think Hans had something to do with Elaina’s abduction?” Emily asked, emotion working in her throat as she imagined Carballo’s people ripping her away from her home.
“Well, he’s Elaina’s father,” she rushed out as if hoping to lessen the blow.
“What?” Liam rasped.
“Hans is considered one of the smartest people in the world just like Talia.” She flipped open her laptop and powered it on.
“They met at The Golden Minds Gala twelve years ago and became friends. The event is still held every year. A collection of the world’s brightest minds gather, and it’s funded by people with deep pockets.
The money is raised to support a youth organization to sponsor gifted children from around the world to advance their studies. ”
Get to the damn point, she wanted to scream her thoughts. She was hanging on to the edge of control, waiting for Maria to explain how she may have jeopardized Elaina’s safety.
“This is Hans.” Maria spun her laptop around to show them his picture.
Tall, dark hair like Elaina, same eyes. The resemblance was there, for sure. But what’d this man have to do with a bounty being placed on Elaina’s head?
“The Golden Minds Gala has been held every year in a different city for the last two decades. And the night of the gala in Texas back in twenty ten, Talia got pregnant. She didn’t tell Hans about the baby; she didn’t think he could ever love a child the way he worshipped his work.
And so, after Elaina was born, she moved to Santiago and took a position with the university and avoided Hans from that moment on.
Never attended another Golden Minds Gala after that, either.
Too worried Hans would discover the truth. ”
“Did you tell him Elaina was his daughter?” Liam asked, taking a step away from the desk, bumping into the chair behind him.
“No, but when he came to the lab, he met her.” She combed her fingers through her jet-black hair as if buying herself some time. “He knew the second he saw her she was his, and I caught him poking her with a needle to draw blood the day after I’d lied about it to him.”
“What happened?” The pain magnified as if her ribs were on the verge of cracking.
“He wanted her,” she whispered. “And as much as I cared about Talia’s wishes—shouldn’t a child be with her father?” She lifted her shoulders. “Elaina was a lot for me to handle with all my work and classes. Plus, I’m a single mom.”
“Did you even ask Elaina what she wanted?” Liam barked out, the vein throbbing at the side of his neck.
“No, I didn’t know how to tell her.” Her lashes fluttered. “Hans gave me what I wanted, and I was going to give him what he wanted.”
“He was going to finish what Talia started?” she asked in surprise.
“He was smarter than Talia. Than me. It was why I called him,” she admitted.
“His work has always revolved around attempting to give a computer the mind of a human but better, and well, his perspective helped.” She released a breath.
“We start test trials next week.” Tears filled her eyes.
“Hans didn’t have to abduct Elaina, though, so it had to be someone else.
Whoever called me asking for her, well, they called the day after Hans flew back to the U.S.
,” she explained. “It doesn’t feel like a coincidence. Maybe my bringing him here somehow—”
“When were you planning on turning Elaina over to Hans?” Liam interrupted.
“He was planning on coming this Saturday for her. He has The Golden Minds Gala in London on Thursday, so he wanted to wait until after.”
London? “What’d Hans say when you called to let him know Elaina was taken?”
“He never answered my calls, so I had to leave him a message. But Elaina’s abduction made world headlines because of Talia, surely, he knows. Maybe he’s trying to find her. I just hope if he does, he wants her because she’s his daughter and not just because of her brain.”