The Carter House
944 Words
Amara stared at the message on Ethan's phone.
Your memories were never yours to begin with.
She felt a chill run through her body.
“What does that mean?”
Ethan looked at her.
“I don't know.”
Lily stepped closer.
“Maybe someone erased your memories.”
Amara shook her head.
“That can't be possible.”
“Then why don't you remember being at Blackwood Academy as a child?” Ethan asked.
Amara had no answer.
They continued toward the Carter house.
The mansion was located on a quiet street surrounded by tall trees and high walls.
When they reached the gate, it opened automatically.
Lily looked around.
“This place is huge.”
Ethan didn't respond.
He seemed nervous.
Amara noticed.
“Are you okay?”
“My mother sounded scared.”
They walked through the entrance.
The front door opened before they could knock.
Ethan's mother stood there.
She looked at Amara for several seconds.
Then her eyes moved to the photograph in Amara's hand.
Her face changed.
“You found it.”
Amara stepped forward.
“You knew about this?”
Ethan's mother looked at Ethan.
“Come inside.”
They entered the house.
She quickly locked the door behind them.
Lily noticed.
“Why did you lock it?”
“Because we're not alone in this.”
Amara's heart began racing.
“What happened to my father?”
Ethan's mother looked at her sadly.
“Your father discovered something he wasn't supposed to know.”
“What?”
She hesitated.
“Twenty years ago, your father and Ethan's father were working together.”
Ethan frowned.
“Working on what?”
“A project beneath Blackwood Academy.”
Amara stared at her.
“The place under the school?”
She nodded.
“Yes.”
Lily looked confused.
“What kind of project?”
Ethan's mother walked toward a large cabinet.
“It wasn't a normal project.”
She opened a drawer and removed an old folder.
She placed it on the table.
Amara opened it.
Inside were several photographs.
Some showed the academy.
Others showed underground rooms.
Then she saw a photograph of herself.
She was only a little girl.
Standing beside her father.
Amara's hands began shaking.
“Why am I here?”
Ethan's mother looked away.
“Because your father wanted to protect you.”
“Protect me from what?”
“The Carter family.”
Ethan looked shocked.
“But my mother just said my father wasn't responsible.”
“He wasn't,” she said quickly.
“Then who was?”
She closed her eyes.
“The people who controlled the project.”
Amara looked at the folder.
“Who were they?”
Before Ethan's mother could answer, the lights suddenly went off.
Lily gasped.
“What happened?”
Ethan pulled out his phone.
“Stay close.”
The house became completely silent.
Then they heard a noise upstairs.
Someone was walking.
Slowly.
Footstep after footstep.
Ethan looked toward the staircase.
“My father isn't home.”
“Then who is upstairs?” Lily whispered.
Nobody answered.
Ethan's mother grabbed the folder.
“We need to leave.”
Amara shook her head.
“No. I'm tired of running.”
She looked directly at her.
“You promised to tell me the truth.”
Ethan's mother stared at her.
Then she whispered,
“Your father trusted me.”
Amara's eyes widened.
“What did he ask you to do?”
“Hide you.”
“From whom?”
She hesitated.
“From the person who wanted you dead.”
A loud crash came from upstairs.
Everyone jumped.
Ethan moved in front of Amara.
“Mom, we need to go.”
His mother nodded.
She opened a hidden door behind the cabinet.
Amara stared.
“Another secret room?”
“This house has secrets too.”
They entered the passage.
Ethan's mother closed the door behind them.
The passage was narrow.
They walked in silence until they reached a small room.
There was a desk and an old computer.
Ethan's mother turned it on.
A password screen appeared.
She typed something.
The computer unlocked.
Amara looked at the screen.
A folder was already open.
Its name was:
AMARA BLAKE — MEMORY FILES
Amara stopped breathing.
“My memory files?”
Ethan looked at his mother.
“What is this?”
She didn't answer.
Amara moved toward the computer.
There were dates listed on the screen.
Each one was from her childhood.
She clicked the first file.
A video appeared.
Amara saw herself as a little girl.
She was crying.
Her father was beside her.
The mysterious woman stood behind them.
Then another person entered the room.
Amara's face went pale.
She recognized him.
“That's…”
Ethan looked at the screen.
“Who?”
Amara couldn't speak.
The video continued.
Her father turned toward the person and said,
“Please. Don't let her remember.”
The video suddenly ended.
Amara stared at the screen.
“Who was that man?”
Ethan's mother looked terrified.
Then someone knocked on the hidden door.
Three times.
Knock.
Knock.
Knock.
Everyone froze.
A voice came from the other side.
“Ethan.”
Ethan's eyes widened.
He knew that voice.
It was his father.
But his mother immediately grabbed his arm.
“Don't open that door.”
Ethan stared at her.
“Why?”
She whispered,
“Because that isn't your father.”
The knocking stopped.
Then the voice spoke again.
This time, it sounded colder.
“Amara…”
Amara stepped back.
The voice continued.
“You finally found your memories.”
The hidden door slowly began to open.
To be continued......
- Writer
- chap_listContents
- likeADD