UNTIL I FIND YOU AGAIN

Chapter 9 — The Prisoner

Samuel Bello opened his eyes.

Darkness.

For a moment, he didn't know where he was.

Then the pain returned.

A dull ache spread across his chest as he tried to move.

Metal restraints tightened around his wrists.

He looked down.

His hands were chained to the sides of a narrow bed.

Samuel pulled against them.

Nothing.

He looked around.

A small room.

Concrete walls.

One steel door.

A single light hanging from the ceiling.

No windows.

No clock.

No way out.

He closed his eyes.

Three years.

Three years since the accident.

Three years since he had last seen his daughter.

He wondered if Amara was alive.

Then a voice came from the corner.

"You should stop fighting."

Samuel's eyes opened.

A man stepped into the light.

Gabriel.

Samuel stared at him.

"Where is she?"

Gabriel didn't answer.

"Where is my daughter?"

"Which one?"

Samuel's expression changed.

"You know exactly which one."

Gabriel smiled faintly.

"That's the problem, Samuel."

He stepped closer.

"You have two daughters."

Samuel looked away.

"Leave them alone."

"Too late."

Gabriel placed a folder on the table beside him.

"Amara found the facility."

Samuel's eyes widened.

"She's alive?"

Gabriel nodded.

Samuel released a breath he hadn't realized he'd been holding.

"Thank God."

"But she isn't alone."

"Who is with her?"

"Adrian Cole."

Samuel's expression hardened.

"No."

Gabriel smiled.

"I knew you'd say that."

"Get him away from her."

"Why?"

"Because he will get her killed."

Gabriel studied him.

"You still blame the boy?"

"I blame the family."

"Adrian isn't his father."

"He's a Cole."

Gabriel said nothing.

Samuel looked at the door.

"Where is Elena?"

"Safe."

"Victoria?"

"Looking for them."

Samuel closed his eyes.

"We don't have much time."

Gabriel nodded.

"I know."

Samuel opened his eyes again.

"Did she find the box?"

"No."

"Good."

"What about the memory?"

"She remembered part of it."

Gabriel's expression changed.

"How much?"

"Enough."

Gabriel looked toward the ceiling.

"Then we're out of time."

---

Amara woke with a pounding headache.

The first thing she saw was Adrian.

He was sitting beside her.

His shirt was stained with blood.

Not his.

Her heart jumped.

"What happened?"

"You collapsed."

"Where's Daniel?"

"Searching for another exit."

"And Elena?"

Adrian's expression darkened.

"Still missing."

Amara sat up.

"Victoria said she was safe."

"I don't trust Victoria."

"Neither do I."

She pressed her fingers against her forehead.

The memories were still there.

Broken.

Incomplete.

A garden.

A red box.

Her father whispering.

Then darkness.

Adrian watched her carefully.

"What did you remember?"

"My father."

"What about him?"

"He told me he had hidden something."

"What?"

"I don't know."

"You said something about a box."

Amara nodded.

"Red."

Adrian stood.

"Where?"

"I don't remember."

"Try."

She closed her eyes.

The image returned.

A little girl.

Elena.

They were sitting beneath a large tree.

Amara was holding something.

A small red box.

Her father stood several feet away.

He looked frightened.

He crouched beside them.

"Listen to me."

Young Amara looked up.

"Papa?"

"One day, someone will come looking for this."

"What is it?"

"Something important."

"Can I open it?"

"No."

"Why?"

"Because you're not old enough."

Young Elena reached for the box.

Samuel pulled it away.

"Promise me something."

The girls nodded.

"Never tell anyone about this."

"Okay."

"Not your mother."

"Okay."

"Not Victoria."

The memory stopped.

Amara opened her eyes.

"Victoria was there."

Adrian frowned.

"What?"

"She was there."

"At the garden?"

"Yes."

"How old were you?"

"Ten."

Adrian stared at her.

"Victoria knew you when you were children."

Amara nodded.

"She knew Elena."

"Then why did she pretend she didn't?"

"I don't know."

Adrian sat beside her.

"What happened to the box?"

"I don't remember."

"Think."

Amara closed her eyes again.

Then she saw something.

A house.

Her childhood home.

A staircase.

A loose floorboard.

She opened her eyes.

"The library."

"What about it?"

"The floor."

Adrian stood.

"Let's go."

---

Daniel found them at the entrance.

"Where are you going?"

"Home," Adrian said.

Daniel frowned.

"That's a terrible idea."

"Why?"

"Because whoever locked us in here knows where we are."

Adrian looked at him.

"Then they'll know where we're going."

Daniel sighed.

"Fine."

They left the facility through a hidden exit.

An hour later, they reached the Bello family house.

The property had been abandoned for years.

Grass covered the driveway.

The windows were broken.

The front door hung crookedly from its hinges.

Amara stood outside.

She stared at the house.

"I haven't been here since I was sixteen."

Adrian stepped beside her.

"You don't have to go inside."

"I do."

They entered.

Dust covered everything.

Furniture remained exactly where it had been left.

A broken clock.

Old photographs.

A piano.

Amara walked slowly through the hallway.

She stopped in front of a photograph.

Her mother.

Her father.

Amara.

And Elena.

Her fingers touched the glass.

"I remember."

Adrian looked at her.

"What?"

"My mother knew."

"Knew what?"

"About Elena."

Amara turned.

"She knew I had a sister."

Daniel walked toward them.

"Then why hide it?"

"Because my father made her."

They reached the library.

Amara looked around.

Bookshelves lined the walls.

A large desk stood near the window.

She walked toward the fireplace.

Then stopped.

"The floor."

Adrian knelt.

"What are we looking for?"

"I don't know."

She closed her eyes.

"Something underneath."

They searched.

Nothing.

Daniel examined the floorboards.

"This one is loose."

He lifted it.

A small metal key was hidden beneath it.

Amara took it.

"Where does it go?"

She looked around.

Then noticed a small wooden cabinet built into the wall.

She inserted the key.

Click.

The cabinet opened.

Inside was a red box.

Amara stopped breathing.

"That's it."

Adrian looked at her.

"Your father's box."

She picked it up.

Her hands shook.

Daniel closed the curtains.

"We should leave."

Amara ignored him.

She opened the box.

Inside was a USB drive.

A photograph.

And a small gold necklace.

The necklace had a tiny pendant shaped like two intertwined circles.

Amara touched it.

"Elena had one."

Adrian looked at her.

"You're sure?"

"Yes."

She picked up the photograph.

It showed Samuel standing with two men.

One was Daniel's father.

The other man had his face turned away.

Adrian stared at the image.

"Who's that?"

Amara shook her head.

"I don't know."

Daniel stepped closer.

Then suddenly stopped.

"I do."

Adrian looked at him.

"Who?"

Daniel's face had gone pale.

"That's my father."

Adrian frowned.

"No."

Daniel pointed.

"Look at his watch."

Adrian stared.

A silver watch.

Engraved initials.

D.R.

Daniel whispered:

"My father wore that every day."

Amara turned the photograph over.

There was a message.

THE THREE FAMILIES WERE NEVER SEPARATE.

Adrian's expression hardened.

"What three families?"

Daniel looked at him.

"Cole."

Amara swallowed.

"Bello."

Daniel nodded.

"And Reyes."

Silence.

The three families.

One secret.

One organization.

And the missing box.

Adrian plugged the USB drive into his phone adapter.

A single video appeared.

He pressed play.

Samuel appeared on the screen.

He looked older.

Exhausted.

But alive.

Amara's eyes filled with tears.

"Papa."

Samuel looked directly into the camera.

"If you're watching this, then the truth has finally begun to surface."

He paused.

"I don't know if I'm alive when you see this."

Amara covered her mouth.

"But if I am not, remember one thing."

Samuel leaned closer.

"Victoria is not the person who started this."

Adrian's eyes narrowed.

"She is only carrying on what someone else began."

Samuel looked frightened.

"The man behind everything is not a Bello."

A pause.

"Not a Cole."

Another pause.

"Not a Reyes."

Amara whispered:

"Then who?"

Samuel's voice dropped.

"The fourth family."

The screen suddenly went black.

Daniel stared at the phone.

"Fourth family?"

Adrian looked at Amara.

"What family?"

Before she could answer, the front door slammed downstairs.

Everyone froze.

Footsteps entered the house.

Slow.

Heavy.

Someone was walking toward them.

Daniel whispered:

"We're not alone."

Adrian grabbed Amara's hand.

"Stay behind me."

The footsteps stopped outside the library.

The door slowly opened.

A woman stood there.

Amara's heart stopped.

It was Elena.

But she wasn't alone.

A gun was pressed against her head.

And behind her stood Victoria.

Victoria smiled.

"Hello, children."

Adrian stepped forward.

"Let her go."

Victoria shook her head.

"You still don't understand."

She looked at Amara.

"Your father didn't hide the box to protect you."

Amara's grip tightened around Adrian's hand.

"Then why?"

Victoria's smile disappeared.

"He hid it because it contains proof that he murdered someone."

Samuel's voice suddenly echoed from the phone.

The video had restarted.

And this time, a name appeared on the screen.

VICTORIA COLE.

Victoria's face changed.

For the first time, she looked afraid.

Adrian stared at her.

"What did you do?"

Victoria slowly lowered the gun from Elena's head.

Her eyes remained fixed on the screen.

Then she whispered:

"Your father lied."

The house fell silent.

Victoria looked at Amara.

"Because Samuel Bello wasn't the victim."

She raised her eyes.

"He was the murderer."