Chapter 10: The Child They Tried to Erase
The words hung in the air.
“She was never supposed to survive.””
I stared at Marcus.
Not because I didn’t understand the sentence.
Because I understood it too well.
Too many people had spent years protecting a secret.
Too many people had looked at Amara like she was a piece of unfinished business.
But nobody had looked at her like a child.
Except me.
I turned toward him.
“Explain.””
Marcus looked exhausted.
Like he had been carrying a weight that was crushing him from the inside.
“I should have told you.””
“Yes.””
“I wanted to.””
“But you didn’t.””
He lowered his eyes.
“No.””
My voice became colder.
“Why?””
Marcus looked at Amara.
“Because every time I saw her, I saw the promise I made.””
I stepped closer.
“What promise?””
He swallowed.
“The promise to keep her alive.””
The room became silent.
Amara stood beside me, holding the old phone against her chest.
A seven-year-old girl.
A lifetime of secrets around her.
I knelt down.
“Amara.””
She looked at me.
“Yes?””
“Did you know about another child?””
Her face changed.
Not surprise.
Fear.
That told me everything.
“You knew.””
She looked away.
“My mom told me not to talk about him.””
Him.
The word hit me.
Not her.
Him.
“His name?””
Amara shook her head.
“I don’t know.””
I looked at Marcus.
“You do.””
He didn’t answer.
That was enough.
“Marcus.””
He sighed.
“His name was Noah.””
The name settled over me.
Noah.
A child I never knew.
A child connected to my past.
A child someone tried to erase.
“Where is he?””
Marcus looked toward the floor.
“I don’t know.””
I grabbed his jacket.
“You don’t know?””
“I searched.””
“Like I searched for her?””
“Yes.””
“Then why didn’t you tell me?””
His eyes filled with regret.
“Because every person looking for him disappeared.””
My hand loosened.
“What?””
Marcus nodded.
“The people who tried to find Noah were targeted.””
A cold feeling moved through me.
“By who?””
Marcus looked at the door.
At the darkness outside.
“The same people who came tonight.””
Richard Vale.
The name flashed through my mind.
The man who knew too much.
The man who showed no surprise when he saw Amara.
“Richard knows about Noah.””
Marcus nodded.
“He knows everything.””
“Then why did he come here?””
“To see if you remembered.””
I frowned.
“Remembered what?””
Marcus hesitated.
Then reached into his pocket.
He pulled out a small metal key.
Old.
Rusty.
Something that looked like it belonged to another life.
“This.””
I stared.
“What is it?””
“Something you gave me twelve years ago.””
I took it.
The moment my fingers touched the metal, another flash hit me.
A door.
A warehouse.
My own voice.
“Keep this safe.””
Then darkness.
I dropped the key.
Marcus caught it.
“You saw something.””
I looked at him.
“A door.””
His face changed.
“Where?””
“I don’t know.””
He whispered:
“You’re starting to remember.””
I hated how relieved he sounded.
Because this wasn’t a victory.
Remembering meant reopening every wound.
I looked at Amara.
“Where did your mother tell you to go if you found me?””
The girl hesitated.
Then reached into her coat.
She pulled out a folded piece of paper.
“I wasn’t supposed to show anyone.””
I took it carefully.
A map.
Not a full map.
Just an address.
A place marked with a circle.
“What is this?””
“My mom said only you would know.””
I looked at the location.
And my stomach dropped.
Because I knew that place.
Even after twelve years.
The old abandoned warehouse by the river.
The place where my memories disappeared.
Marcus saw my expression.
“You remember?””
I nodded slowly.
“Not everything.””
“What do you remember?””
I looked at the address.
“My last night with her.””
Nobody spoke.
“I was there.””
The memory came back in pieces.
Rain.
A broken window.
Her crying.
A baby crying.
And a man standing in the shadows.
A man whose face I couldn’t see.
But whose voice I remembered.
“You never should have found this.””
I looked up.
“Richard.””
Marcus went still.
“You remember him?””
“Not his face.””
I closed my eyes.
“But his voice.””
The room became tense.
Then Amara spoke.
“My mom said there was one more thing.””
I looked at her.
“What?””
“She said if you remembered the warehouse…”
She paused.
“What?””
Her eyes filled with tears.
“She said you would remember why you left us.””
My heart stopped.
“I left?””
Amara nodded.
“That’s what she said.””
I stepped back.
Because that made no sense.
I would never leave them.
Never.
But a terrible thought entered my mind.
What if I did?
What if the memory I had lost wasn’t something done to me?
What if it was something I did?
Then my phone buzzed.
A message.
Unknown number.
One sentence.
May you like
My blood went cold.
*If you want to know what happened twelve years ago, come to the warehouse alone.*
