Danielle was looking up into the green eyes of a woman holding her in her arms. The woman had curly, brown hair, a thin face, and a petite nose. Something seemed very familiar about her.
Danielle had never seen a picture of her birth parents because Emily, her adoptive mom, said that the adoption agency didn’t give her one. Is this my birth mother? It has to be. She figured she was reliving an experience from when she was an infant.
When baby Danielle turned her head, she saw a man standing nearby, looking down the hallway. He had on a gold and emerald green robe. His hooked nose and strong jaw line reminded her of someone, but she couldn’t quite place the face.
“So, what did he say?” the man asked.
Just as Danielle wondered who he was talking to, a tall, blonde man, wearing a dark brown robe, approached. He had blue eyes, an oval-shaped face, and a cleft chin.
“I found out that certain Council members are in a special meeting with the Judges right now.” He was looking at the man in the gold and emerald green robe. “They plan on banishing you, Dreggan.”
Danielle recognized the voice of the blonde man as the voice of the man she heard at the beginning of her HST—the man who was plotting to steal the MSIs and the decoder. And, the person with whom he had that conversation must have been Dreggan—the very person standing next to her!
“I knew it,” Dreggan said. “All those interviews with security personnel. I could tell by the questions they asked you that they were up to something. You’ve done well, Darren.”
“Thank you, Dreggan.” Darren bowed slightly.
Dreggan raised a finger. “I need to have a little chat with Bryn and Elizabeth. In the meantime, you and Jenna will go to your quarters and wait till you hear from me.” Almost as an afterthought, he added, “It looks like I’ll be able to reveal my new name soon.” He rubbed his hands together, obviously pleased with that idea.
As if the baby Danielle had closed her eyes, the scene ended.