Chapter 5: The Memory Buried Inside Me
The sentence stayed in my mind.
*You saw who took your mother.*
I stared at Victor.
Waiting for him to laugh.
Waiting for him to say he was wrong.
Waiting for someone, anyone, to tell me this was a misunderstanding.
Nobody did.
The silence was the answer.
I looked back down at the police report in my hands.
My name was there.
My birthday.
My mother’s name.
A case number.
But the thing that scared me wasn’t the paperwork.
It was the note written underneath.
*Child recovered. Memory trauma suspected.*
A child.
Me.
Recovered from what?
I placed the file on the table.
“What does that mean?””
Victor didn’t move.
“Jaylen…”
“No.””
My voice cracked.
“Don’t say my name like that.””
He stopped.
“Explain.””
Principal Harris looked away.
Elena quietly left the room, giving us privacy.
I noticed.
Everyone knew how to handle the truth.
Everyone except me.
Victor walked toward the window.
For a few seconds, he just stood there.
Then he spoke.
“The night your mother disappeared, you were found three miles away from your house.””
I frowned.
“That’s impossible.””
“Why?””
“Because I remember being home.””
Victor turned.
“You remember pieces.””
I felt a chill.
“What happened to my memory?””
He looked at the floor.
“Your mind protected you.””
I shook my head.
“That sounds like something people say when they don’t want to tell me the truth.””
Principal Harris stepped closer.
“It’s what happened.””
I looked at her.
“You knew?””
Her eyes filled.
“Yes.””
“How long?””
She swallowed.
“Since the day I found you.””
The room went quiet.
I felt something break inside me.
“You found me?””
She nodded.
“I was called to the hospital that night.””
“Why?””
“Because your mother asked someone to contact me if anything happened.””
My breathing slowed.
My mother had a plan.
She knew something could happen.
“Why didn’t you tell me?””
Principal Harris closed her eyes.
“Because I promised her.””
“Promised her what?””
Her voice became soft.
“That I would let you have a childhood.””
I laughed bitterly.
“A childhood?””
I looked around the room.
“You let me grow up believing nobody wanted me.””
“No.””
Her voice became stronger.
“We let you grow up believing you were loved.””
That stopped me.
Because she wasn’t wrong.
My mother had loved me.
Every day.
Even when we had nothing.
Even when our apartment was too small.
Even when she worked two jobs and came home exhausted.
She always made me feel like I had everything.
I looked at Victor.
“But you.””
His eyes lifted.
“What about me?””
“You knew I existed.””
“Yes.””
“And you didn’t come.””
His face tightened.
“I tried.””
“Again with that.””
“I tried to find you.””
“Then why didn’t you?””
The question came out louder.
“Why wasn’t I enough?””
Victor’s expression changed.
The pain on his face was almost unbearable.
“You were the only thing that mattered.””
“Then where were you?””
He didn’t answer.
Because there was no answer that could fix eight years.
Finally, he whispered:
“Damien made sure I couldn’t reach you.””
I looked at the files.
“How?””
Victor walked back to the table.
“After Angela disappeared, Damien destroyed every connection between us.””
“He changed my records?””
“Yes.””
“He erased me?””
“Yes.””
My hands curled into fists.
“Why?””
Victor looked at the photograph of my mother.
“Because Angela knew something about him.””
“What?””
Victor hesitated.
Then he opened another file.
Inside were financial records.
Documents.
Photos.
I didn’t understand most of it.
But I understood one thing.
A company name.
Hayes Global.
“What am I looking at?””
Victor pointed.
“Years ago, before Hayes Global became what it is today, Damien invested in my company.””
“So?””
“So the money wasn’t clean.””
I looked at him.
“What does that mean?””
“It means Damien built his power through illegal deals.””
Principal Harris spoke quietly.
“Angela found proof.””
My eyes moved to her.
“She found out about her own father?””
Victor nodded.
“She wanted to expose him.””
“And he stopped her.””
Nobody answered.
But I knew.
The room felt smaller.
“My mother was killed?””
Victor’s face changed.
“I don’t know.””
That answer hurt.
“You don’t know?””
“No.””
“Then what do you know?””
Victor looked at me.
“I know she was alive after she disappeared.””
My heart stopped.
“What?””
He reached into the file.
He pulled out a photograph.
A recent one.
Not old.
Not faded.
A woman standing outside a building.
Her face wasn’t clear.
But I knew the shape.
The hair.
The posture.
The way she stood.
My fingers shook.
“That’s…”
Victor nodded.
“Yes.””
My throat tightened.
“My mother.””
Nobody spoke.
I moved closer.
The picture was blurry.
But something about it felt real.
Like my body recognized her before my mind did.
“When was this taken?””
“Six months ago.””
The room spun.
Six months.
My mother could have been alive six months ago.
Six months ago, I was sitting alone in a tiny apartment, thinking she was gone forever.
“You knew?””
Victor looked ashamed.
“I suspected.””
“You suspected?””
My voice rose.
“You had a picture of my mother and you didn’t tell me?””
“I didn’t know if it was real.””
“You didn’t know?””
“I was trying to confirm it.””
I stepped back.
“So while I was living like she was dead, you were investigating?””
Victor didn’t defend himself.
“Yes.””
I looked away.
Anger and hope fought inside me.
I wanted to hate him.
But if my mother was alive…
If there was even a chance…
“I need to find her.””
Victor immediately nodded.
“I know.””
“No.””
I looked at him.
“I need to find her.””
His eyes softened.
“You will.””
For the first time, I heard something different in his voice.
Not guilt.
Not fear.
A promise.
Then my phone buzzed again.
Everyone froze.
I looked down.
Another unknown number.
This time, there was a picture attached.
My hand went cold.
It was a photograph of me.
Taken today.
Outside the graduation fence.
Me standing alone.
Someone had been watching.
Under the image was one sentence.
*Your mother chose you over me. Now you’ll understand what that cost her.*
Victor grabbed the phone from my hand.
His face turned pale.
“Where did this come from?””
“I don’t know.””
He stared at the screen.
Then he whispered:
“He’s closer than I thought.””
I looked at him.
“Who?””
Victor didn’t answer.
Because his eyes had moved toward the security camera near the front gate.
A camera pointed directly at the house.
A small red light blinked.
Someone was watching us.
Victor grabbed his keys.
“Stay here.””
I stepped forward.
“No.””
“Jaylen.””
“I’m done staying behind while everyone else decides my life.””
He looked at me.
And for a moment, I saw the same stubbornness my mother had.
The same fire.
Then the house lights suddenly flickered.
Once.
Twice.
The entire room went dark.
A second later, every screen in the house turned on.
The television.
The security monitors.
The computer displays.
All showing the same image.
A man sitting in a dark room.
Older.
Gray hair.
Cold eyes.
I knew instantly who he was.
Because he looked like my mother.
And somehow, that made it worse.
Damien Carter stared directly into the camera.
Directly at me.
Then he smiled.
“Hello, Jaylen.””
My blood ran cold.
The man leaned closer.
“I’ve been waiting a long time to meet my grandson.””
The screen went black.
May you like
And underneath the darkness, one final message appeared.
*Tomorrow, I will tell you what your mother did.*
