CHAPTER 6 - THE NAME HE BURIED
1852 Words
The silence didn’t just linger.
It cracked.
“Why did you lie to me… Lucian?”
Amara’s voice came out low, unsteady—but it carried weight. The kind that forced truth into the open whether anyone was ready for it or not.
Lucian didn’t answer.
For the first time since she had met him, the man who controlled every room, every situation, every outcome… hesitated.
His hand was still on her arm, steadying her after what she had seen beyond the door. But now that grip felt different.
Not protective.
Restrictive.
Her eyes searched his face.
And what she saw unsettled her more than anything else that had happened tonight.
Not anger.
Not control.
Something closer to conflict.
“What did you see?” he asked finally, his voice quieter now. Careful.
Too careful.
Amara swallowed hard.
Fragments still flickered in her mind—images that didn’t belong to the life she remembered.
“I saw fire,” she said slowly.
Lucian’s jaw tightened.
“And a house… not mine, but it felt like it was.”
Her fingers curled into his shirt unconsciously, grounding herself.
“There was shouting. A man. Angry. And a woman crying.” Her voice faltered. “And a child…”
Lucian’s chest rose slightly.
“A little girl,” she whispered.
The man in black stepped closer, his attention fixed entirely on her.
“Where was she?” he asked.
Amara didn’t look at him. Her gaze had gone distant again.
“Hiding,” she said. “Behind a wall… like a hidden space.”
A beat passed.
Then—
“She had a key.”
Amara looked down at her own hand.
The same key.
Her grip tightened.
Lucian exhaled slowly.
“Amara—”
“That’s not my name.”
The words came out sharper this time.
More certain.
Lucian froze.
The man smiled faintly.
“Yes,” he said softly. “Now you’re starting to see.”
Amara pulled away from Lucian completely this time, even though her legs felt unsteady beneath her.
“You knew,” she said, her voice trembling with something between anger and disbelief. “You knew who I was from the beginning.”
Lucian didn’t deny it.
“Yes.”
The truth landed heavy.
Unavoidable.
“Then why didn’t you tell me?” she demanded.
Lucian stepped closer, his expression tightening.
“Because it wasn’t safe.”
“For who?” she shot back immediately.
“For you.”
“That’s not your decision to make.”
“It was the only way to keep you alive.”
The man let out a soft, amused breath.
“Interesting version of protection.”
Lucian ignored him.
His attention remained locked on Amara.
“Your memories were taken for a reason,” he said. “And bringing them back too soon—”
“Too soon?” she cut in. “Or before you could control the situation?”
His expression hardened.
“This isn’t about control.”
“It feels like it.”
Silence stretched between them.
Heavy.
Uncomfortable.
Then the man spoke again.
“You deserve the truth,” he said.
Lucian’s voice dropped, colder now.
“You don’t get to decide that.”
“I already have.”
Amara turned toward him.
“Then tell me,” she said.
Lucian grabbed her wrist.
“No.”
She pulled away sharply.
“Stop doing that!”
Her voice rose, frustration finally breaking through the confusion.
“You don’t get to decide what I can handle anymore.”
The man watched them with quiet interest before speaking again.
“Your name,” he said calmly.
Amara’s breath caught.
“That’s where we start.”
Lucian raised his gun slightly.
“Say it, and I won’t miss this time.”
The threat hung in the air.
But the man didn’t react.
Didn’t flinch.
He just kept looking at Amara.
“They erased you,” he said.
Her heart pounded.
“Why?”
“Because of who your father is.”
Lucian’s voice cut in sharply.
“That’s enough.”
But the man continued as if he hadn’t spoken.
“He isn’t just powerful,” he said. “He’s untouchable. And when you were born… you became leverage.”
The word echoed in her chest.
Leverage.
“They hid you. Changed your identity. Buried your past so deeply that even you believed it.”
Amara shook her head slowly.
“No…”
“And your brother—”
Her head snapped up.
“What about him?”
“He found out,” the man said.
Lucian stepped forward.
“Stop.”
But the damage was already done.
“He wasn’t supposed to,” the man continued. “But he did. And once he knew the truth…”
Amara’s throat tightened painfully.
“He tried to protect you.”
Tears burned behind her eyes.
“He died because of me,” she whispered.
“No,” Lucian said immediately. “He died because he chose to fight something bigger than him.”
“But it was for me.”
Silence.
And that silence told her everything.
Her breathing grew uneven.
“No… that’s not—”
“It is,” the man said softly.
Lucian moved again, stepping between them.
“That’s enough.”
The man tilted his head slightly.
“You’re afraid.”
Lucian’s eyes darkened.
“Of what happens when she remembers everything.”
Amara looked between them.
Confusion warred with anger. With fear.
“What else aren’t you telling me?” she asked.
Lucian didn’t answer.
And that—
That hurt more than anything else.
“Fine,” she said quietly.
Then she turned toward the door again.
Lucian’s expression shifted instantly.
“Don’t.”
“I need to see it again.”
“No.”
“Yes.”
“It’s not safe.”
“Nothing about this is safe!” she snapped.
Her voice cracked.
And that was worse than anger.
It meant she was breaking.
“I deserve to know who I am,” she said.
Lucian stepped in front of her, blocking her path.
“And I’m trying to make sure you stay alive long enough to figure that out.”
“By lying to me?”
“By protecting you.”
She let out a hollow laugh.
“That’s not protection.”
The man watched in silence now, letting the tension build.
Lucian lowered his voice.
“If you go through that door again,” he said, “you might not come back the same.”
Her eyes locked onto his.
“Maybe I’m not supposed to.”
The words hit him hard.
He didn’t hide it this time.
Didn’t have time to.
Because suddenly—
A sound echoed through the corridor behind them.
Distant.
But growing.
Footsteps.
More of them.
Lucian’s head snapped toward the entrance.
“They’re coming.”
The man smiled faintly.
“They never stop.”
Amara’s pulse spiked.
“How many?”
“Enough,” Lucian said.
He grabbed her hand again.
“We move. Now.”
This time, she didn’t resist.
Because survival still mattered.
Even if everything else was falling apart.
They moved quickly toward a narrow passage at the far end of the room.
Lucian pushed it open.
“Go.”
Amara stepped inside.
The air changed immediately.
Colder.
Tighter.
The walls closer.
The man followed behind them without hesitation.
Lucian didn’t stop him.
Not this time.
Because they all knew—
The danger behind them was worse.
The passage sloped downward.
Deeper underground.
Amara’s breathing echoed around them.
Too loud.
Too fast.
“Why does he know so much about me?” she asked quietly.
Lucian didn’t answer.
The man did.
“Because I was there.”
Her heart skipped.
“Where?”
He didn’t hesitate.
“The night your life was erased.”
Her breath caught.
“What does that mean?”
Lucian’s voice cut in.
“It means he’s lying.”
The man laughed softly.
“You know that’s not true.”
Amara looked between them again.
Uncertain.
Torn.
“Tell me,” she said.
Lucian’s voice dropped.
“Don’t.”
But she didn’t look at him.
“Tell me.”
The man met her gaze.
“That night,” he said, “your house burned.”
Her chest tightened.
“You weren’t supposed to survive.”
The words settled cold in her chest.
“But you did,” he continued. “Because someone got you out before the fire reached you.”
Her breath faltered.
“Who?”
A pause.
Then—
“Me.”
Silence fell.
Heavy.
Unbelievable.
Amara stared at him.
“You’re lying.”
“I’m not.”
“Why would you save me?”
For the first time, something in his expression shifted.
Subtle.
But real.
“Because you were never meant to die.”
Lucian stopped walking.
Turning sharply.
“That’s enough.”
The man met his gaze.
“No. It’s just beginning.”
Amara’s heart pounded.
“Then tell me everything.”
The man stepped closer.
“I will.”
A pause.
“But not here.”
Lucian’s grip tightened.
“We’re not going anywhere with you.”
The man smiled.
“You don’t have a choice.”
And then—
The ground beneath them shifted.
A loud crack echoed through the tunnel.
Dust rained down from above.
Amara gasped.
“What’s happening?”
Lucian looked up.
“They’re collapsing the tunnels.”
Her heart dropped.
“What?!”
“They’re sealing us in.”
Another crack.
Louder.
Closer.
The passage ahead trembled.
“Run,” Lucian said.
They moved fast.
Faster than before.
The tunnel shook violently around them.
Chunks of debris falling.
The exit ahead—
Shrinking.
Closing.
“Faster!” Lucian shouted.
Amara pushed forward, her lungs burning.
Her legs screaming.
The man kept pace behind them.
Calm.
Too calm.
Like none of this scared him.
The exit was just ahead—
Then—
The ceiling gave way.
The path collapsed completely.
Blocking their escape.
Amara stumbled to a stop.
“No—no, no…”
Lucian stepped forward, scanning quickly.
Looking for another way.
There wasn’t one.
Behind them—
Another crack.
The tunnel beginning to give way.
They were trapped.
Amara’s chest tightened.
“We’re going to die here.”
Lucian didn’t answer.
The man stepped forward slowly.
Standing beside them now.
Unshaken.
“You’re not,” he said quietly.
Amara turned to him.
“What do you mean?”
His eyes locked onto hers.
“Because this isn’t the first time you’ve been buried alive.”
Her breath caught.
“What did you just say?”
The tunnel groaned again.
Cracking further.
Lucian grabbed her arm.
“We need another exit.”
But the man didn’t move.
Didn’t panic.
He just watched her.
Waiting.
“Think,” he said.
A pause.
Then—
“Or should I call you by your real name?”
Everything inside her stilled.
Her voice dropped to a whisper.
“What… is my real name?”
The man smiled.
And the tunnel began to collapse.
- Writer
