A New Name
1884 Words
A New Name
The Fox estate had never felt this quiet.
The enormous halls that were usually filled with voices, footsteps, and laughter now seemed strangely empty.
Mrs. Sterling Fox sat in the family room, her eyes swollen from crying.
Drake stood beside her, tightly holding one of his mother's arms.
Across from them stood Amy.
She hadn't said a word for several minutes.
She simply stared at her mother.
Her eyes were filled with disbelief.
Sterling slowly reached for her.
"Amy..."
Amy stepped closer.
"Mom..."
Sterling swallowed hard.
"I need to tell you something."
Amy's lips trembled.
"It's about Aura."
Drake's grip around his mother's arm tightened.
Sterling looked at both of them.
"Aura is missing."
Amy froze.
"What?"
Sterling's eyes filled with tears again.
"She's been kidnapped."
Amy's face immediately changed.
"No..."
She shook her head.
"No, Mom."
"Amy..."
"No!"
Amy stepped backward.
"You said she was at the hospital."
Sterling nodded slowly.
"She was."
"Then where is she?"
Sterling couldn't answer.
Amy's eyes became red.
"Where is my sister?"
Sterling finally broke down.
"We don't know."
Amy covered her mouth.
"No..."
She shook her head repeatedly.
"No, no, no..."
Drake looked up at his mother.
"Mommy..."
Sterling looked down.
Drake's eyes were still wet.
"I told you the police would find her."
Sterling pulled him closer.
"They're searching, sweetheart."
"But she's coming home, right?"
Sterling hesitated.
Then nodded.
"Yes."
Drake leaned against her.
Amy stood silently.
Her mind was racing.
Aura.
Her beautiful little sister.
The five-year-old girl with the unusual orange hair.
The girl whose eyes sometimes glowed orange whenever her strange abilities appeared.
The Dragon Rite.
Amy remembered the day Aura had made Drake float in the garden.
She remembered Aura laughing.
She remembered her little sister calling her the greatest big sister in the world.
And now...
She was gone.
Amy finally whispered,
"She was just here."
Sterling walked toward her and wrapped her arms around her daughter.
Amy immediately broke down against her mother's shoulder.
"Mom..."
"I know."
"I should have been there."
"No."
Sterling held her tighter.
"This is not your fault."
"But she's my little sister."
"And you're still her sister."
Amy cried harder.
Sterling stroked her hair.
"We're going to bring her home."
At that moment, the doors opened.
Chief Justice entered.
He immediately noticed the atmosphere.
His expression became solemn.
Sterling looked at him.
"Justice..."
She wiped her face.
Then her voice cracked.
"I should have listened to you."
Chief Justice stopped.
Sterling stepped toward him.
"I should have listened to you."
Her tears returned.
"You warned me."
Chief Justice's expression softened.
"Mrs. Fox..."
"I should have listened."
He gently placed a hand on her shoulder.
"Don't give up yet."
Sterling looked at him.
"She's out there."
His voice was calm but firm.
"And she will come back one way or another."
Drake stepped forward.
"Chief Justice?"
Justice looked down at him.
"Yes, young man?"
"Is my sister coming home?"
Justice paused.
He didn't want to make a promise he couldn't guarantee.
But he didn't want to destroy the boy's hope either.
"We will do everything we can to find her."
Drake nodded slowly.
Justice crouched to his level.
"But until then..."
He placed a hand gently on Drake's shoulder.
"...you need to take care of your mother."
Drake looked at Sterling.
Then nodded.
"Okay."
Chief Justice stood.
His eyes moved toward Sterling.
There was something in his expression.
Concern.
Suspicion.
And perhaps something else.
He knew the Dragon Rite had chosen Aura for a reason.
And he feared that whatever had happened to the girl was only the beginning.
---
Far Away
Miles away from the Fox estate, John Lincoln rushed into a hospital carrying an unconscious little girl.
"Please!"
Nurses immediately approached.
"I found her outside my property. She was unconscious."
"Put her here!"
John carefully placed Aura onto the hospital bed.
Doctors immediately surrounded her.
"Check her pulse."
"She's breathing."
"Get the monitor."
"What's her name?"
John stared at the little girl.
He didn't know.
"She doesn't have identification."
The doctors began examining her.
John stepped backward.
His breathing was still heavy from everything that had happened.
Then the hospital doors opened.
A woman hurried inside.
"John!"
John looked up.
"Mirabel!"
He rushed toward her.
"Thank God you came!"
Mirabel stopped.
"For a second there, I thought you wouldn't."
She folded her arms.
"Why wouldn't I? You're my brother."
John sighed with relief.
Mirabel narrowed her eyes.
"Okay..."
She looked suspicious.
"It was my husband, James, who convinced me to come."
John blinked.
Mirabel continued.
"You do this every time."
"Mirabel..."
"Every single time."
"Please..."
"You bring us these emergency calls, make everything sound like the world is ending, and then what?"
John rubbed his forehead.
"Mirabel..."
"Then we find out it's another one of your false alarms."
"Mirabel!"
She kept talking.
"And if you're doing it again, I promise you—"
"MIRABEL!"
The entire hallway went quiet.
Mirabel froze.
John pointed toward the hospital room.
"This isn't fake news."
Mirabel's expression changed.
John lowered his voice.
"I'm with a child."
Mirabel's eyes widened.
"Your child?"
She stared at him.
"Oh my God!"
She grabbed his arm.
"John, you got married?"
"What?"
"Why didn't you tell me?"
"I didn't—"
"Are there things you're not telling me?"
"No!"
John sighed.
"The kid isn't mine."
Mirabel blinked.
"What?"
John pointed toward the room.
"I think she was kidnapped."
Mirabel's expression became serious.
"kidn*pped?"
"Someone was trying to kill her."
He looked back at Aura.
"If I hadn't stepped in..."
He shook his head.
"They would've killed her."
Mirabel's face softened.
"Oh."
She looked toward the room.
"Let me see her."
John nodded.
They walked toward the examination room.
As they entered, John said,
"She's just a little girl."
Mirabel smiled faintly.
"I love little kids."
John immediately replied,
"I hate kids."
Mirabel stopped.
Several people nearby looked at him.
John's eyes widened.
"I mean..."
He nervously waved his hands.
"Not literally."
He cleared his throat.
"I mean raising kids."
He looked around.
"You all have things to do."
Everyone quickly returned to whatever they were doing.
Mirabel laughed.
"You're unbelievable."
They entered the room.
Aura lay motionless on the hospital bed.
Mirabel looked at her.
"She's beautiful."
John nodded.
Then his expression became uncertain.
"So when she wakes up..."
Mirabel looked at him.
"What will you tell her?"
John shrugged.
"She'll tell me where she came from."
He paused.
"And why people wanted to kill her."
"And then?"
"I'll take her home."
He smiled.
"Problem solved."
Mirabel laughed.
"Just like that?"
"Exactly."
"And what about the kid situation you're always complaining about?"
John pointed toward Aura.
"She's safe."
He nodded confidently.
"I'm safe from kid things."
Mirabel shook her head.
"You're impossible."
Before John could respond, a doctor approached them.
"Mr. Lincoln?"
John turned.
"Yes?"
"I'm sorry."
John's expression changed.
"Is there a problem, Doctor?"
The doctor motioned toward the medical screen.
"Come and take a look."
John and Mirabel followed him.
The screen displayed Aura's internal scans.
At first, John didn't understand what he was looking at.
Then he froze.
"What..."
Mirabel stepped closer.
"What is that?"
The doctor pointed toward the image.
"Her heart."
John stared.
The image showed something impossible.
Aura's heart appeared to be surrounded by intense energy.
It looked almost like flames.
But it wasn't merely an image of heat.
Something was moving through her bloodstream.
Like fire flowing through liquid.
John's mouth opened slightly.
"Is..."
He swallowed.
"Is this normal?"
The doctor slowly shook his head.
"No."
John stared at him.
"How abnormal?"
The doctor looked at the screen.
"I've never seen anything like it."
He pointed toward Aura.
"This is a five-year-old child."
He looked back at John.
"How could a child have this kind of energy source inside her body?"
Mirabel looked at John.
The doctor frowned.
"Where are her parents?"
John opened his mouth.
"What do you want her parents for?"
"So I can determine her medical history."
Mirabel suddenly laughed.
The doctor looked confused.
"He doesn't have a wife."
John glared at her.
"Thanks."
Mirabel smiled.
"He found the girl abandoned."
John looked at Aura.
"Yeah."
He shook his head.
"I didn't know I was saving..."
He looked at the monitor.
"...flames."
The doctor stared at him.
Then cleared his throat.
"Well..."
John interrupted.
"I'll take responsibility for her."
The doctor looked at him.
"You're certain?"
John nodded.
"I'll raise her."
He paused.
"But I won't be her father."
Mirabel raised an eyebrow.
John continued.
"I'll be her uncle."
Mirabel smiled.
"Father suits you better."
"Uncle is fine with me."
The doctor sighed.
"Alright."
He placed several documents on the table.
"Sign here."
John picked up the pen.
He signed.
Then signed again.
And again.
Finally, he put the pen down.
"There."
The doctor collected the papers.
"Thank you."
John looked toward Aura.
Then—
Her fingers moved.
John's expression changed.
"Wait."
Mirabel turned.
"What?"
Aura's eyelids slowly opened.
The three of them stared at her.
Aura blinked several times.
Her eyes moved around the room.
She looked frightened.
Then she whispered,
"Where's my daddy?"
John froze.
Mirabel looked at him.
Aura's voice became weaker.
"Where's my mummy?"
John stepped closer.
"We don't know where your father and mother are."
Aura looked at him.
"Daddy?"
Mirabel's eyes widened.
John's heart sank.
He understood immediately.
She didn't remember.
Not her parents.
Not her home.
Perhaps not even herself.
John gently sat beside the bed.
"I'm not your father, young girl."
Aura stared at him.
"I'm your uncle."
She looked confused.
"Uncle?"
John nodded.
"Yes."
He forced a reassuring smile.
"Your mother and father had to travel for an important meeting."
Aura's eyes became sad.
"They left me?"
John shook his head quickly.
"No."
He gently touched her shoulder.
"They'll come back."
"When?"
John hesitated.
"Soon."
He forced another smile.
"It could take months."
Aura stared at him.
"Months?"
"Maybe."
He nodded.
"Maybe years."
Aura looked frightened.
"But they'll bring you gifts."
Her expression softened slightly.
"Really?"
"Really."
John smiled.
Then he realized something.
"What's your name, little girl?"
Aura stared at him.
Silence.
John waited.
"What's your name?"
Aura's face became confused.
She looked toward Mirabel.
Then toward the doctor.
Nothing.
She didn't know.
John slowly turned toward Mirabel.
"She doesn't remember."
Mirabel's expression became sad.
"So what are we going to call her?"
John looked down at the little girl.
"We're taking her home."
He sighed.
"But she needs a name."
Mirabel thought for a moment.
Then smiled.
"Chloe."
John raised an eyebrow.
"Chloe?"
Mirabel nodded.
"I like it."
John looked at the little girl.
"Okay."
He leaned closer.
"From now on..."
He smiled gently.
"...your name is Chloe."
The little girl stared at him.
Then slowly nodded.
"Chloe."
John smiled.
"Yes."
Aura—or rather, the little girl who now believed her name was Chloe—quietly repeated it.
"Chloe."
She smiled faintly.
Neither John nor Mirabel knew the truth.
Neither of them knew that the little girl lying before them was not Chloe.
She was Aura Fox.
The lost daughter of Sterling Fox.
The chosen vessel of the ancient Dragon Rite.
And somewhere far away, her real family was still searching for her.
But for now...
Aura Fox was gone.
And Chloe Lincoln had just been born.
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