ROOM 1108

“Who Are You?”

Aria stood between two doors. One carried a number. The other carried nothing. It sat at the end of the hidden corridor like a secret someone had forgotten to bury properly. Unfortunately, it was also the one Aria wanted most. She took a step toward it.

"Nope..."

Damien's voice echoed through the corridor. Aria looked over her shoulder.

"I didn't say anything."

"You didn't have to."

A smile tugged at her lips.

"You always this dramatic?"

"I'm standing in a hidden corridor with you."

He folded his arms.

"At this point, dramatic feels appropriate."

She laughed quietly to herself but the sound bounced off the narrow walls. For a brief moment, the tension eased. Then her eyes drifted back to the unmarked door. And the feeling returned. A strange pull, like the door responded whenever she looked at it. Damien followed her gaze. His expression hardened instantly.

"1108-B first."

"Why?"

"Because that's what we came here for."

Aria tilted her head.

"And the other door?"

His answer came too quickly…

"Later."

Which meant never. Or at least not today. She had recognized the tone in which he delivered the message. Damien was worried.

"Fine."

He looked relieved. Together, they turned toward 1108-B. The steel door stood motionless. The faded plaque still clung stubbornly to the front.

1108-B.

The room everyone had erased. The one her mother had fought to protect. The room hidden behind walls and lies. The room that had changed everything. Aria reached into her pocket, her fingers wrapped around the key. The metal felt cold. She slid it into the lock. The corridor became silent. Echoes of the key picking the locks were audible as she drove her fingers back and forth. Even Damien stopped breathing. For a second, Aria hesitated. Then she turned the key. Click. The sound echoed through the darkness. A lock opening after years of silence. Slowly, she pushed the door. The hinges groaned.

Dust drifted into the air. The smell of old paper and stale air rolled out to meet them. Then the door opened fully.

"What the…"

The room was empty. Stripped clean. Shelves lined the walls. Every shelf was empty. Metal brackets remained bolted in place. Dust coated each corner.

Spiderwebs hung from the ceiling. It all felt calculated and intentional. Like someone had cleaned up. Beside her, Damien entered slowly. His eyes moved across the room as he studied it. Taking inventory.

His jaw tightened.

"They cleared it out."

Aria nodded. The emptiness felt deliberate. Like opening a treasure chest to find someone had emptied it beforehand.

"There has to be something..a clue, anything".

Damien was too stunned to respond.

Aria searched mindlessly refusing to accept the outcome. Rushing corner to corner murmuring to herself. Like someone who had lost an earring on an open road. Halfway into her search mantra, she noticed something. Near the center of the room,standing completely alone was a metal filing cabinet. The only object left behind. Her pulse leaped in excitement

"That's not suspicious at all."

Damien followed her gaze. For the first time since entering the room, something flickered across his face.

"You see it too?"

"It's the only thing here."

The room had been cleaned out. Yet somebody had left the cabinet. Aria approached carefully. Dust covered the floor around it, but not the cabinet itself. She stopped, looked closer. Then frowned.

"Damien."

He moved closer to her.

"What?"

She pointed. The metal surface reflected the weak light. It was far too clean.

"No dust."

Understanding flashed across his eyes. Someone had touched it recently. A chill crawled up Aria's spine. They weren't the first people to return. Someone else had been here too recently. The realization made them feel like they were not alone. Like unseen eyes watched from the corners. Aria grabbed the cabinet handle. The top drawer slid open immediately. It was empty. The second drawer was empty too and so was the third. The fourth was locked. She almost laughed. The universe clearly enjoyed irony. Damien stepped closer.

"The key."

Aria already knew. She inserted the key and turned. Click. The lock released. Slowly, she pulled the drawer open. Inside rested a single file. The name typed neatly across the front made her stomach drop.

MARA QUINN.

Her mother. For a second, Aria stared. Unable to move. Every clue. secret. All leading back here. Back to her mother. Damien remained silent. For once, he didn't try to stop her. He simply watched. Aria lifted the file. The papers felt thick. She opened it. Photographs slipped into view. Reports. Handwritten notes. Dates. Names. Someone had spent years documenting her mother. The realization felt deeply disturbing. Like reading a stranger's diary. Then she saw the first photograph. She couldn’t believe what she saw. Her mother stood outside Blackwood Residences. A younger Mara. Beside her stood Evelyn Blackwood. The two women appeared to be arguing. Neither looked happy. Behind them were several unfamiliar faces. Aria studied each one.

"No way."

Damien immediately looked up.

"What?"

Aria held up the photograph. Her hands trembling slightly. Because standing behind her mother , looking directly at the camera, was Damien. Six years younger. The same eyes. Same expression. His unmistakable face. Silence filled the room. Aria lowered the photograph, then slowly turned toward him.

"Care to explain this?"

Damien didn't respond. His eyes remained fixed on the image. And that silence told her everything. He knew the whole time. The photograph wasn't new information to him. It was only new to her. She heaved a sigh slowly turning to meet his gaze. Her eye locked onto his…

"The worst lies aren't the ones people tell."

Her voice suddenly gaining weight…

"They're the truths people leave out."

Damien finally looked at her. Pain flashed across his face. He turned pale.

"You think I lied."

"I think you've been choosing your words very carefully."

Neither looked away, maintaining the gaze. The tension stretched between them. She stared into the ceiling, almost tearing up.

“Only the heavens know how many secrets still lurking”.

Then something else caught Aria's attention. Another photograph. Partially hidden beneath the first. She pulled it free. The photograph showed her mother. Much younger. Standing beside a boy. Dark hair. Serious eyes. Probably twelve years old or younger. The boy looked uncomfortable in front of the camera, like he'd rather be anywhere else. Aria stared even more intently. Then slowly lifted her gaze toward Damien. Then back to the photograph. Then Damien again. The resemblance was impossible to ignore. The same eyes. The same guarded expression. Her heart pounded. Hard enough to hurt.

The photograph had to be nearly twenty years old or even older. Which meant, her mother knew Damien long before Blackwood. Before room 1108.

Long before six years ago. Before everything. The discovery shook her harder than any mystery so far.

Now it suddenly seemed Damien wasn't just connected to the case, he was connected to her family. Aria's voice barely rose above a whisper.

"Who are you?"

For a moment, Damien didn't move. He stared at the photograph as though seeing it for the first time.

Then his eyes slowly lifted to meet hers, he looked completely lost. Like a man standing at the edge of a memory he never wanted to revisit. Finally, he spoke...

"That's not the question you should be asking."