Chapter 6 - The Man Who Was Supposed To Be Dead
Nobody touched the photograph.
It sat on the table between them.
A small piece of paper.
A simple image.
But somehow, it felt heavier than anything Eli had ever held.
The older man stood quietly near the doorway.
He didn't look nervous.
He didn't look like someone who had broken into a heavily protected building.
He looked like someone who had been expected.
Miles Keane kept his eyes on him.
"Start talking."
The man glanced at Miles.
A small smile appeared.
"You still do that."
Miles didn't react.
"Do what?"
"Stand between danger and everyone else."
The man's eyes moved toward Eli.
"Even when you don't know who you're protecting."
Miles stepped closer.
"Who are you?"
The man ignored the question.
Instead, he looked at Silas.
"You never told him."
Silas's expression remained cold.
"Leave."
The man shook his head.
"No."
One word.
Calm.
Certain.
And somehow, it made the entire room tense.
Eli looked at Silas.
He had never seen him like this.
Silas wasn't afraid of many things.
But this man was different.
"You know him," Eli said.
Silas didn't answer.
Eli looked at Harper.
She also looked away.
Everyone knew something.
Everyone except him.
Again.
The same feeling returned.
The feeling that his entire life was a story everyone else had already read.
Except him.
The older man picked up the photograph.
"Do you want to know why you spent twelve years believing nobody wanted you?"
Eli looked at him.
The question hurt.
Because it was the question he had carried for years.
The man turned the photograph around.
The front showed a young Clara holding a baby.
Eli.
But behind them stood another person.
A man.
Silas.
And someone else.
A woman whose face was hidden.
Eli stared.
"Who is she?"
Silas looked at the photograph.
His silence answered before his words did.
"Your mother."
The room stopped.
Eli blinked.
"My mother?"
Silas nodded slowly.
"Her name was Elena."
The name felt strange.
But familiar.
Like a song he had forgotten.
Eli touched the photograph.
"I don't remember her."
"I know."
Silas looked down.
"That was the point."
Miles looked confused.
"What does that mean?"
Silas took a breath.
"After your parents died, Clara discovered someone was hunting everyone connected to them."
"Why?"
Silas looked at him.
"Because your parents found something."
"What?"
Silas didn't answer.
The older man near the door laughed quietly.
"Still protecting him."
Silas looked at him.
"You don't get to say his name."
The man's expression changed slightly.
"You still think you're the hero."
Miles stepped forward.
"Enough."
He pointed toward the man.
"Name."
The man looked at him.
"Adrian Vale."
Miles froze.
Only for a second.
But Eli noticed.
"You know him."
Miles didn't answer.
Adrian smiled.
"Of course he does."
Miles's face became serious.
"You were supposed to be dead."
The room became silent.
Eli looked between them.
Dead.
Again.
Another person who was supposed to be dead.
Adrian looked amused.
"That's the problem with secrets."
He looked at Silas.
"Eventually, someone survives them."
Harper stepped forward.
"Why are you here?"
Adrian looked at her.
"Because the boy deserves the truth."
Harper's expression hardened.
"You don't care about him."
"No?"
Adrian looked at Eli.
"Ask him why Clara died."
Silas immediately reacted.
"Don't."
Eli turned.
"Why?"
Silas looked at him.
For a moment, he looked like he wanted to lie.
But he couldn't.
Not anymore.
"Because I made a mistake."
Eli waited.
Silas continued.
"I trusted the wrong person."
Miles looked at Adrian.
"You?"
Adrian smiled.
"No."
He looked at Silas.
"Someone much closer."
The room became tense.
A person closer than Adrian.
Closer than the attackers.
Someone inside.
Miles immediately understood.
"The person who gave them the location."
Silas nodded.
Eli looked at him.
"Who?"
Nobody spoke.
Then Harper whispered:
"Silas..."
He looked at her.
And Eli noticed something.
They weren't looking at Adrian.
They were looking at each other.
A terrible realization moved through the room.
Miles noticed too.
"Wait."
Everyone turned.
Miles looked between Silas and Harper.
"Are you saying the person who betrayed you is..."
He stopped.
Because he saw the answer on their faces.
Eli stepped backward.
"No."
Nobody said anything.
Because sometimes silence was louder than words.
The lights suddenly flickered.
Everyone looked up.
The security system activated again.
A new file appeared on the main screen.
No title.
Only a date.
The same date Clara disappeared.
Miles walked toward it.
"Who uploaded this?"
The security officer checked.
His face changed.
"I don't know."
"Find out."
"I can't."
"Why?"
The officer swallowed.
"Because it came from inside the building."
Everyone looked around.
Adrian slowly smiled.
"I told you."
Miles stared at him.
"Told us what?"
Adrian looked toward Eli.
"The person who erased him..."
A pause.
"...never actually left."
The file opened.
A video appeared.
The image was shaky.
Someone was running.
Breathing heavily.
Then a woman's voice.
Clara.
Eli immediately froze.
Because even without remembering her...
He knew her voice.
"Eli, if you are watching this..."
The video stopped.
A loading symbol appeared.
Everyone waited.
Then the screen changed.
ERROR.
FILE DELETED.
Miles turned.
"Who deleted it?"
The officer looked terrified.
"No one."
"What do you mean no one?"
"The system deleted itself."
Miles stared at the screen.
That wasn't possible.
Unless someone had built the file that way.
A message appeared.
One sentence.
Not from the system.
From someone watching.
Eli saw it first.
He stepped closer.
The message was written in white letters.
"YOU WERE NEVER LOST."
His breathing changed.
Because beneath that sentence was another line.
A name.
Not Eli Carter.
Not the name he had used his entire life.
His real name.
Miles looked at the screen.
Silas closed his eyes.
Harper covered her mouth.
Because they all knew what it meant.
Someone had finally decided to tell him who he really was.
The screen flashed once more.
May you like
Then the final message appeared.
"COME BACK HOME, ELIAN."
