Chapter 12: The Missing Page
The missing page bothered me more than the letter itself.
Because a missing piece meant someone was still controlling the story.
Still deciding what I was allowed to know.
And I was done letting people choose my truth.
I placed the letter on the table.
“Where is the second page?””
Nobody answered.
I looked at Victor.
“You know.””
He stayed silent.
That was enough.
“Where?””
Victor sighed.
“Claire took it.””
“Why?””
“Because she didn’t know who she could trust.””
I laughed bitterly.
“Seems like she had a good reason.””
Nobody responded.
Marcus looked like he wanted to speak.
I stopped him.
“Not yet.””
He nodded.
That hurt.
Seeing Marcus silent hurt more than anger would have.
Because anger meant there was still something left to fight for.
Silence meant damage.
I picked up the letter again.
The words felt heavier.
You loved her.
I looked at Lily.
She was sitting quietly.
Too quietly.
“Lily.””
She looked up.
“Yes?””
“Did your mother tell you why she left?””
She nodded.
“What did she say?””
Lily hesitated.
“She said she had to find the missing page.””
My eyes narrowed.
“Why?””
“She said it had your name on it.””
Victor looked suddenly alarmed.
“What?””
Everyone turned toward him.
I noticed.
“You didn’t know?””
Victor shook his head.
“No.””
For the first time since I met him, he looked afraid.
“What’s on that page?””
Victor stared at the floor.
“I don’t know.””
“That’s not true.””
“It is.””
“Then why are you scared?””
He didn’t answer.
Elijah spoke quietly.
“Because maybe he knows what it means.””
I looked at him.
“What?””
Elijah looked at Victor.
“The missing page might not reveal who betrayed Bear.””
A pause.
“It might reveal who saved him.””
The room became silent.
I looked between them.
“What does that mean?””
Nobody answered.
Then the clubhouse alarm started.
A loud warning sound.
Everyone froze.
Marcus looked at his phone.
His face changed.
“What?””
I stepped closer.
“Who is it?””
He showed me the screen.
A security alert.
Someone had entered the clubhouse.
My clubhouse.
The place that had always been my fortress.
“They’re inside.””
I looked at Victor.
“How?””
His expression hardened.
“Because they were never outside.””
The words chilled me.
“What are you saying?””
Victor looked around the room.
“They’ve been watching you the entire time.””
The lights went out.
Again.
But this time, nobody panicked.
We were ready.
A flashlight turned on.
Then another.
Marcus moved toward the entrance.
Elijah grabbed my arm.
“Bear.””
I looked at him.
“Whatever happens next…”
“What?””
“Remember who you were before they told you who to be.””
The words hit me.
Because suddenly I understood something.
The biggest battle wasn’t finding the people who stole my memories.
It was discovering what I had done before they took them.
The clubhouse door opened.
A figure stepped inside.
Everyone raised their weapons.
Then the person removed their hood.
And I stopped breathing.
Because standing there was someone I thought had disappeared thirty years ago.
Someone whose face appeared in every missing piece of my past.
Someone who knew the truth.
Claire.
She looked at me.
Older.
Tired.
But alive.
And the first words out of her mouth weren’t an apology.
They weren’t an explanation.
They were a warning.
“Bear…”
Her eyes moved to Lily.
Then back to me.
“You need to leave.””
I stared at her.
“Why?””
Her voice broke.
“Because they don’t want you to remember.””
A pause.
“And because the person who erased your memories…”
May you like
She looked around the room.
“…is standing right here.””
