CHAPTER 8 The Sister Buried Alive
Elena stared at the photograph until her eyes began to burn.
The image refused to make sense.
Claire.
A newborn baby.
And herself.
Standing beside them.
Three years ago.
A night she had never remembered.
A moment she had never lived.
But the photograph proved otherwise.
Her fingers tightened around the phone.
"No..."
The word escaped her lips.
A nurse passing outside the room looked in.
"Mrs. Howard?"
Elena quickly turned the screen away.
"I'm fine."
But she wasn't.
Because one question was tearing through her mind.
How could she be in a photograph she didn't remember taking?
Across the city...
Richard sat inside Ruiz's car, staring through the windshield.
Neither man spoke.
The discovery of Amelia Howard had changed everything.
For years, Richard believed his family consisted of three people.
His father.
His mother.
Himself.
Now he was learning that his entire childhood had been built on missing pages.
Ruiz finally broke the silence.
"Tell me what you remembered."
Richard closed his eyes.
The memory was painful.
Fragments.
Nothing more.
But they were becoming clearer.
"I was young."
"Maybe twelve."
"My father had a study underneath the house."
Ruiz frowned.
"An underground room?"
Richard nodded.
"I wasn't supposed to go there."
"But I heard someone crying."
"Amelia."
He swallowed.
"She was locked inside."
FLASHBACK
The young Richard walked through a dark hallway carrying a flashlight.
The house above him was silent.
His parents were attending a charity event.
His brother Daniel had told him never to enter the basement.
But curiosity was stronger than fear.
He opened the hidden door.
Inside was a small room.
A girl sat on the floor.
Her wrists were bruised.
"Who are you?"
Richard asked.
The girl looked up.
Her eyes were full of fear.
"Richard?"
He froze.
"How do you know my name?"
The girl whispered:
"Because I'm your sister."
Then footsteps approached.
Daniel.
Only Daniel wasn't alone.
Their father stood behind him.
The older man looked furious.
"What are you doing here?"
Richard stepped backward.
"Why is Amelia locked up?"
His father said nothing.
Daniel grabbed his arm.
"Forget you saw this."
Richard struggled.
"Why?"
Daniel leaned close.
His voice was cold.
"Because if you remember..."
"...they'll do the same thing to you."
Present Day.
Richard opened his eyes.
"I remember Daniel being afraid."
Ruiz looked surprised.
"Afraid?"
"Yes."
"Not angry."
"Not cruel."
Richard shook his head.
"Terrified."
At the Howard mansion...
Vanessa sat alone.
The interrogation room had become unbearable.
No matter how calm she tried to appear...
She was losing control.
The mysterious video.
The Black Compass symbol.
The missing sister.
Too many things were happening that she didn't understand.
Then the door opened.
A man walked inside.
Not a police officer.
Not a lawyer.
Vanessa immediately stood.
"You?"
The man smiled.
"You look disappointed."
She stared at him.
"You're supposed to be dead."
The man's smile disappeared.
"Careful, Vanessa."
"People who say things like that usually end up joining the dead."
Vanessa's face hardened.
"What do you want?"
The man placed a folder on the table.
"Your cooperation."
She laughed.
"You abandoned me."
"No."
He leaned forward.
"You failed."
The word cut deeper than a knife.
Vanessa looked at the folder.
"What is that?"
"Your escape plan."
She opened it.
Inside were passports.
Money.
A new identity.
Then she saw the final page.
Her own death certificate.
Vanessa looked up slowly.
"What is this?"
The man smiled.
"Your insurance."
At St. Vincent Medical Center...
Elena finally made the decision she had avoided for three years.
She called Richard.
He answered immediately.
"Elena?"
His voice was exhausted.
"Richard..."
She hesitated.
There were thousands of things she wanted to say.
But only one mattered.
"You need to come here."
"Why?"
"Because I remember something."
Silence.
"What?"
Elena looked at the photograph again.
"I remember Amelia."
Richard froze.
The silence on the phone became terrifying.
"You knew my sister?"
Elena closed her eyes.
"Yes."
"She was the one who saved me."
One hour later...
Richard arrived at the hospital.
He entered Elena's room.
For the first time since the staircase incident...
They looked at each other without secrets between them.
Or at least...
They tried.
Richard placed the photograph on the bed.
"Explain."
Elena looked at it.
"I don't know how."
"Try."
She took a deep breath.
"Three years ago, before I met you..."
"I worked at a private research company."
Richard frowned.
"What kind of research?"
Elena looked away.
"Memory manipulation."
The room became silent.
Richard felt a chill.
"Black Compass."
Elena nodded.
"They weren't just stealing identities."
"They were changing people."
She continued.
"Amelia found me after I discovered their files."
"She was trying to escape."
"She knew they were experimenting on people connected to powerful families."
Richard stared.
"My family."
"Yes."
Elena's voice became quieter.
"Your father started it."
Richard looked devastated.
"No."
"He was involved?"
"Yes."
"But Amelia tried to expose him."
"That's why they erased her."
Richard stood suddenly.
"Where is she?"
Elena looked at him.
"I don't know."
"You said she saved you."
"She did."
"Then where did she go?"
Elena's eyes filled with fear.
"Richard..."
"What?"
"Amelia didn't disappear."
"She was taken."
Before Richard could respond...
The hospital lights suddenly went out.
Every screen in the room turned black.
The machines restarted.
Then every monitor displayed the same symbol.
A black compass.
Richard stepped backward.
"No..."
A voice came from the room speaker.
Distorted.
Artificial.
But familiar.
"Hello, Richard."
His entire body froze.
Because he knew that voice.
A voice from childhood.
A voice he thought belonged only to his nightmares.
"Daniel."
Elena looked at him.
"You know him?"
Richard couldn't answer.
The speaker crackled again.
"You finally remembered."
The lights flickered.
"Now I need you to remember one more thing."
A pause.
Then the voice whispered:
"You were the one who opened the door."
Richard's face turned pale.
"What door?"
The answer came immediately.
"The door where Amelia died."
The hospital room went silent.
Elena stared at Richard.
Richard stared at the speaker.
Then the voice delivered the final message.
"Come home, little brother."
May you like
The screen went dark.
End of Chapter 8
