Aiden's secret
1347 Words
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For a moment, Emberly wondered if she’d misheard him. Aiden? Holding a fragment? Impossible. Aiden barely understood her world—barely believed half of it. He had always been the protector, the loyal one, the man who ran toward danger when it came for her.
He wouldn’t…
He couldn’t…
“Silas,” Emberly finally said, voice sharp, “you’re wrong.”
Silas didn’t turn. He stood in front of the massive board of red lines and pinned documents, his back to her. Hands clasped behind him. Calm. Controlled. Confident.
“Am I?” he asked.
“Yes,” Emberly insisted. “Aiden wouldn’t hide something like that. Not from me.”
Silas turned slowly, eyebrow raised. “He already did.”
Emberly’s breath faltered.
Silas took a step toward her, voice steady. “Who found your childhood adoption files? Who discovered they were stolen? Who appeared at your door before dawn with a story that conveniently lacked details?”
“That doesn’t mean—”
“Who,” Silas continued, interrupting her, “was assigned to your father’s ‘accident’ case seventeen years ago?”
Emberly froze.
Silas nodded, eyes narrowing. “Aiden’s father was the lead investigator.”
Her throat tightened painfully. “That… that doesn’t mean Aiden knows anything.”
Silas closed the distance between them, stopping just close enough that she could feel the faint warmth radiating from him.
“It means,” Silas murmured, “that he’s been connected to this longer than you think. And he’s been lying to you since the day you met.”
Emberly’s hands curled into fists. “Stop. You’re twisting things.”
Silas studied her. “You still trust him.”
“No,” she whispered, “I just—”
“Want to.”
Emberly looked away.
Silas’s voice softened—not gentle, but precise. “Trust isn’t a weakness, Emberly. But misplaced trust can kill you.”
Her chest ached.
She hated that he was right.
She hated even more that he might be wrong.
“You said Aiden has the second fragment,” she forced out. “Where is it? How do you know?”
Silas moved to the table beside them and tapped a stack of photos. Emberly hesitated before leaning in.
The photos showed Aiden entering an evidence vault. Certain files pulled. Certain items sealed.
One item circled in red.
A small silver capsule.
“What… what is that?” Emberly whispered.
“The second memory fragment,” Silas said. “He removed it from the vault three weeks ago.”
Three weeks ago.
Her heart cracked.
“That was the day he came to check on me,” she whispered.
Silas nodded. “Exactly.”
Emberly sank into a chair. Her breathing felt thin, fragile. “Why would he hide this from me?”
Silas sat across from her—something he hadn’t done until now—and leaned forward, elbows on his knees.
“Maybe to protect you,” he said quietly. “Maybe because he doesn’t trust me. Maybe because he’s working with your mother. Or maybe—”
His gaze sharpened.
“—because he’s scared of what you are becoming.”
Emberly’s chest heaved. “Stop. You don’t get to talk about him like—”
“Emberly,” Silas cut in, voice dangerously calm, “you don’t know who he is anymore.”
She slammed her fist against the table. “Then take me to him. Let me ask him myself.”
Silas didn’t flinch. “You could. But he won’t tell you the truth.”
“Let me find out.”
Silas leaned back in his chair, studying her with eyes that saw too much.
“You’re not ready.”
The words lit something fiery inside her.
“Don’t decide that for me,” Emberly bit out.
Silas stood, walking to the far wall where a map of the city was pinned with markers. “This isn’t about deciding for you. It’s about keeping you alive long enough to get answers.”
“Then let me face him.”
Silas turned, irritation flickering through his composed expression. “If you go to him unprepared, you’ll put both of you in danger.”
Emberly’s voice shook. “I don’t care.”
“You should,” Silas snapped. It was the first time he’d raised his voice. “Because he’s not the only one watching you.”
Emberly swallowed hard. “Who else?”
Silas motioned to another board—this one covered in surveillance photos. Emberly stepped closer and felt her stomach drop.
Every picture was of her.
Walking home.
Buying groceries.
Arguing with Aiden.
Sleeping on her couch.
Standing on her rooftop.
Faces blurred in the background—always the same figures. Watching. Following.
Her voice broke. “How long have they been tracking me?”
Silas’s jaw tightened. “Since the night your father died.”
Her hand flew to her mouth. “Seventeen years?”
“Yes.”
Her breath came in shallow bursts. “Then why haven’t they taken me yet?”
“Because,” Silas said, stepping toward her again, “they didn’t know what was inside you yet.”
Emberly felt the world tilt. “And now they do.”
“Now,” Silas confirmed, “everyone wants you.”
Her knees buckled… and Silas caught her before she hit the ground.
Not forcefully.
Not possessively.
Almost carefully.
“You need to sit,” he said, lowering her gently into a chair.
Her fingers clutched his sleeve longer than she meant to. Silas went still, watching her with an unreadable expression before slowly pulling away.
Emberly steadied her breathing. “If Aiden has the fragment, why hasn’t he turned it in? Why hasn’t he given it to them?”
Silas studied her. “Because he’s torn between protecting you… and protecting his loyalty.”
Emberly’s throat tightened. “You make it sound like he can’t have both.”
“He can’t.” Silas’s voice was absolute. “Not in this world.”
Emberly wiped her eyes. “He’s not like your people. Or my mother. He’s not capable of something like this.”
Silas tilted his head. “People surprise you when fear is involved.”
She looked away.
Silas stepped closer, lowering his voice. “I know this hurts. I know you don’t want to believe any of it. But denial won’t save you.”
Emberly whispered, “Then what will?”
Silas met her eyes—dark, intense, unwavering.
“Facing him.”
Her breath caught. “But you said—”
“I’ll prepare you,” Silas said. “Train you. Teach you to control what’s inside your mind. Then you’ll confront him—with answers instead of fear.”
Emberly hesitated. “Why are you helping me?”
Silas looked down for a fraction of a second. When he lifted his gaze again, the vulnerability was gone.
“Because your father trusted me,” he said simply.
Her world froze.
“My father knew you?” she whispered.
Silas nodded once. “He saved my life. I owe him.”
Emberly stared at him, breath shaking. “And you’re repaying him by dragging me into this nightmare?”
Silas’s jaw tightened. “I’m repaying him by keeping you alive.”
The silence that followed was heavy… but less hostile.
Emberly inhaled. “Then what do we do now?”
Silas’s expression hardened.
“Now,” he said, “we find Aiden.”
“How?”
Silas opened a drawer and pulled out a tracking device. “Because he’s already looking for you.”
Emberly’s pulse spiked. “What?”
Silas activated a screen showing a blinking red dot moving through the city.
“He’s coming,” Silas said. “And he isn’t alone.”
A chill raced through Emberly.
“Not alone?” she whispered.
Silas’s gaze darkened. “Someone else is with him.”
“Who?”
Silas glanced at her with an expression that was both dangerous and knowing.
“Liam.”
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- Writer
