CHAPTER 5 - THE SECRET HE BURIED
1259 Words
"And that woman was supposed to be dead."
Lyra stared at Elias.
The words echoed inside her head.
Supposed to be dead.
Not missing.
Not lost.
Dead.
She took a slow step backward.
"You knew."
Elias didn't answer.
"You knew I was alive."
"I suspected."
"You said you thought I was dead."
"I did."
"Then why did you say Lucien told you to find me?"
His jaw tightened.
"Because he did."
"When?"
"Six years ago."
"Before the fire?"
"No."
"After?"
"Minutes before."
Lyra's breathing became shallow.
She looked at the silver ring.
"What exactly did he tell you?"
Elias glanced down the alley.
"We shouldn't stay here."
"I don't care."
"I do."
"Answer me."
He looked at her.
"He called me."
Lyra frowned.
"Lucien called you?"
"Yes."
"From the estate?"
"Yes."
"How?"
Elias's expression darkened.
"That's the part that doesn't make sense."
Lyra waited.
"I received the call at 1:13 in the morning."
"And?"
"There was fire in the background."
Her stomach tightened.
"What did he say?"
Elias's eyes moved toward the rain.
"He said his time was running out."
Lyra swallowed.
"What else?"
"He said there was a woman with him."
"Me."
"Yes."
"What did he say about me?"
Elias hesitated.
Then:
"He said you couldn't be allowed to die."
Lyra's heart skipped.
"That's all?"
"No."
"What else?"
"He said if I couldn't save you..."
Elias stopped.
Lyra stepped closer.
"If you couldn't save me, what?"
His eyes met hers.
"I had to find you after the fire."
Silence.
"Why?"
"I don't know."
Lyra stared at him.
"You expect me to believe that?"
"No."
"Then what do you expect?"
"The truth."
"You don't even know the truth."
"No."
For once, Elias didn't pretend otherwise.
"I know pieces."
Lyra folded her arms.
"Tell me the pieces."
He studied her for a long moment.
Then nodded.
"Six years ago, Lucien discovered something about my family."
"What?"
"I don't know."
"You've had six years."
"I've spent six years trying to find out."
"And you found me instead."
His gaze held hers.
"Yes."
Lyra looked away.
The rain had softened to a drizzle.
The alley suddenly felt colder.
"Who was the third person?"
Elias's expression changed.
"You remember that?"
"You said there were three bodies."
"There were."
"Two unidentified."
"Yes."
"Who was the third?"
"Lucien."
"And the others?"
"We found one body near the east wing."
"Who?"
"We never identified her."
Her blood ran cold.
"Her?"
Elias nodded.
"A woman."
Lyra's fingers tightened.
"Was she young?"
"I don't know."
"Dark hair?"
"I don't know."
"How old?"
"We couldn't tell."
Lyra looked away.
Something was moving inside her memory.
A woman.
A scream.
A red dress.
Smoke filling a hallway.
She pressed her fingers against her temple.
"Lyra?"
"I'm fine."
"You aren't."
"I'm fine."
"You don't have to lie to me."
She looked at him sharply.
"You don't get to decide what I have to do."
Elias went quiet.
Lyra closed her eyes.
The memory disappeared.
Again.
Like a door slamming shut.
She opened them.
"I need somewhere to sleep."
Elias studied her.
"Come with me."
She shook her head.
"No."
"I have a guest apartment."
"No."
"It's secure."
"No."
"It's empty."
She looked at him.
"Do you rehearse these lines?"
"No."
"Because you're very persistent."
"I've been called worse."
Despite everything, the corner of her mouth lifted.
Only slightly.
Elias noticed.
He didn't smile.
But something softened in his eyes.
"One night," he said.
Lyra hesitated.
"One night."
"Agreed."
---
The apartment was nothing like Lyra expected.
She had imagined something enormous.
Cold.
Luxurious.
A place designed to remind people that Elias Veyr had money.
Instead, it was quiet.
Modern.
Almost painfully simple.
Dark wood.
Neutral walls.
Large windows overlooking the city.
No family photographs.
No decorations.
No signs that anyone lived there.
Lyra stood near the entrance.
"You live here?"
"Sometimes."
"That's not an answer."
"It's the only one you're getting."
She rolled her eyes.
"Of course."
Elias walked toward the kitchen.
"There's food."
"I'm not hungry."
"You're lying."
She looked at him.
"Are you always this irritating?"
"Usually."
He opened the refrigerator.
"Tea?"
"Coffee."
"Black?"
"Two sugars."
He glanced at her.
"You remember my order?"
"You told me."
"I didn't."
Elias paused.
Then looked at her.
"You're right."
Lyra stared.
Something about the exchange felt strangely familiar.
Too familiar.
She looked away.
"Where's the bathroom?"
"Down the hall."
"And the bedroom?"
"Second door on the left."
She stopped.
"Your bedroom?"
"No."
"Good."
She walked away.
"Lyra."
She turned.
Elias pointed toward the table.
"Your phone."
She looked down.
She was still holding it.
"Keep it on."
"Why?"
"If they try to contact you again, I want to know."
She hesitated.
Then placed the phone on the table.
Elias walked toward the windows.
He looked down at the city.
"Get some sleep."
"You're not sleeping?"
"No."
"Why?"
"I'm going to find out who followed you."
Lyra studied him.
"You don't have to."
"I know."
"Then why?"
He looked over his shoulder.
"Because I don't like unfinished business."
She almost smiled.
"That's what I am?"
His eyes stayed on hers.
"No."
A pause.
"You're the opposite."
Before she could ask what he meant, he walked away.
---
Lyra lay awake for nearly an hour.
The bed was too comfortable.
The room too quiet.
Her mind refused to stop.
Lucien.
The fire.
The woman.
The ring.
Elias.
She reached beneath her pillow and pulled out the silver ring.
She studied it under the faint light from the window.
There was something engraved inside.
She had never noticed it before.
Lyra turned the ring.
Tiny letters.
Almost worn away.
She brought it closer.
A.W.
Her breath caught.
Amara Wren.
Her initials.
She had never known they were there.
A sound came from the hallway.
Lyra froze.
The bedroom door opened slightly.
"Elias?"
No answer.
She reached for the lamp.
The light came on.
The hallway was empty.
Lyra slowly stepped out of bed.
She looked toward the living room.
Elias was standing by the window.
His back was toward her.
"Did you hear that?"
He turned.
"What?"
"The door."
"I didn't touch it."
Lyra's heart began to race.
Then she noticed something on the floor.
A small envelope.
It hadn't been there before.
She crouched.
Elias immediately moved toward her.
"Don't touch it."
She stopped.
He picked it up carefully.
There was no name.
No address.
Nothing.
He opened it.
Inside was a single photograph.
Elias looked at it.
His expression changed.
Lyra stepped closer.
"What is it?"
He didn't answer.
She took the photograph from his hand.
And froze.
It showed the Veyr estate.
Six years ago.
Before the fire.
Lucien stood outside the main entrance.
Beside him was Lyra.
But that wasn't what terrified her.
There was a third person standing behind them.
A woman in a red dress.
Lyra stared at her.
She knew that woman.
She had seen her before.
Not in the photograph.
In her memories.
The woman from the fire.
The woman whose body had never been identified.
Lyra's fingers began to tremble.
"Elias."
He looked at her.
"I remember her."
His face went pale.
"Who is she?"
Lyra stared at the photograph.
Then whispered:
"She was the reason Lucien told me to run."
A second piece of paper fell from the envelope.
Elias picked it up.
His eyes moved across the words.
Then he looked at Lyra.
"What?"
He handed it to her.
Three words were written on the page.
SHE ISN'T DEAD.
Lyra stopped breathing.
And somewhere in the apartment—
her phone began to ring.
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