Chapter 6: The Truth Buried Under Twelve Years
I didn’t sleep that night.
I sat alone in the Iron Saints clubhouse, staring at two things sitting on the table in front of me.
The old photograph.
And the envelope Calvin gave me.
Two pieces of my life.
Two pieces that didn’t belong together.
For twelve years, I believed I had lost someone.
Now I was learning someone had taken her.
There was a difference.
A painful one.
Amara slept in the small guest room upstairs.
Denise stayed with her.
The bikers stayed too.
Nobody wanted to leave.
Not after everything.
Marcus sat across from me.
Neither of us had spoken for almost ten minutes.
Finally, he broke the silence.
“You hate me.””
I looked at him.
“No.””
He looked surprised.
“I should.””
I shook my head.
“I hate that you knew.””
Marcus looked down.
“I was trying to protect you.””
“From what?””
He didn’t answer.
That was becoming a pattern.
I leaned forward.
“Marcus.””
He rubbed his face.
“You really don’t remember that night?””
“No.””
“Not anything?””
I searched my mind.
A hospital.
Rain.
A voice.
Then darkness.
“No.””
Marcus nodded slowly.
“Then maybe it’s better that way.””
My anger rose.
“Don’t say that.””
“Why?””
“Because I deserve the truth.””
He looked at me.
“You might not like it.””
I laughed bitterly.
“Marcus, I found out today I have a daughter I never knew about. I found out the woman I loved might still be alive. I found out someone erased twelve years of my life.””
I pointed at the envelope.
“You think there’s a version of the truth that scares me now?””
Marcus had no answer.
I opened the envelope.
Inside was a letter.
Different handwriting.
Not hers.
Someone else’s.
The first line read:
“Bear, if you are reading this, then I failed.””
I frowned.
Failed?
I continued.
“I promised her I would keep you safe.””
My eyes narrowed.
Her.
I kept reading.
“I promised I would protect the child.””
My hand froze.
The child.
Amara.
The letter continued.
“But protecting you meant making you forget.””
I looked up.
Marcus was staring at me.
“You knew about this letter.””
He didn’t deny it.
“I knew it existed.””
“Who wrote it?””
Marcus hesitated.
Then said:
“Me.””
The room went silent.
I stared at him.
“You wrote this?””
“Yes.””
“Why?””
His eyes filled with guilt.
“Because she asked me to.””
I stood up.
“No.””
“Bear—”
“No.””
I walked away from the table.
“You helped hide my daughter from me?””
Marcus’s voice cracked.
“I helped keep her alive.””
I turned around.
“What does that mean?””
He looked toward the stairs.
At where Amara was sleeping.
“Your life was dangerous back then.””
I laughed once.
“Dangerous? I was a biker.””
“No.””
His voice became serious.
“Not because of the club.””
I stared at him.
“Then because of what?””
Marcus looked at the letter.
“Because of what you found.””
The words sent a chill through me.
“What did I find?””
Before he answered, footsteps came from upstairs.
Amara appeared at the top of the stairs.
She looked tired.
But calm.
“I know.””
Everyone looked at her.
I walked closer.
“Know what?””
She slowly came down.
“My mom told me.””
“Told you what?””
Amara held the railing.
“She said my dad found something he wasn’t supposed to find.””
My heart pounded.
“What?””
She looked at me.
“A secret.””
“What secret?””
She shook her head.
“She said she couldn’t tell me.””
“Why?””
“Because if I knew…”
She paused.
“If I knew, they could find me too.””
The clubhouse became silent.
I looked at Marcus.
Then at the letter.
Then at Amara.
A seven-year-old girl had spent her whole life carrying a secret meant for me.
I crouched down.
“Amara.””
“Yes?””
“Did your mother ever say my name when she talked about this?””
She nodded.
“What did she say?””
The girl’s eyes filled with tears.
“She said…”
Her voice cracked.
“She said, ‘Bear was the only person who could save us.’”
My chest tightened.
Save us.
Not save her.
Us.
Then my phone rang.
Everyone jumped.
Unknown number.
I stared at the screen.
A part of me already knew.
I answered.
“Hello?””
For several seconds, there was only silence.
Then a woman’s voice whispered through the speaker.
A voice I had dreamed about hearing for twelve years.
A voice I thought I would never hear again.
“Bear…”
My entire body froze.
I couldn’t breathe.
The room disappeared.
Because I knew that voice.
“Is this real?””
A shaky breath came through the phone.
Then she said the words that shattered everything.
“Don’t trust Marcus.””
I slowly turned.
Marcus went completely still.
May you like
And the woman on the phone whispered:
“He was the one who made you forget me.””
