Chapter 68 I don't know her

Chapter 68 I don't know her
Zoe's POV

I kept the smile on my face.

"I know you don't know me." I said carefully. "But I'm here on behalf of a friend. Her name is Zoe."

Nothing moved in the old woman's face.

"I don't know if you remember her." I continued. "She was here in Lakewood a few months ago. Young. Blonde. Small." I paused. "You had approached her several times actually. You told her she looked exactly like her mother. Like Seraphina." I watched her eyes. "You remember? You said you were Seraphina's closest friend."

The woman looked at me quietly for a long moment.

Then she said. "I'm sorry. I don't know what you're talking about."

I blinked.

"You don't..." I stopped. Started again. "Ma'am my friend told me everything. She said you approached her four times. You told her you knew her mother. You told her your name was Natasha and that you and Seraphina grew up together. You told her you knew about the twins—"

"I think your friend must be confused." The woman said. Calm. Flat. Like she was discussing the weather. "I don't know any Zoe. I don't know any Seraphina. And I have never approached any young woman in this pack about her mother."

I stared at her.

"Ma'am." I kept my voice steady. "My friend described you very specifically. Your brown shawl. Your white hair. This chamber at the end of the pack. She said you grabbed her hand. You begged her to tell you which twin she was—"

"I think you should leave." The woman said.

Not unkind. Not cold. Just final.

Like a door closing.

"Please." I took one step forward. "Just listen to me for one moment. My friend needs answers. Real answers. About her family. About her parents. About why there is a man walking around this pack who looks exactly like the photograph in her locket—"

"I don't know your friend." The woman said again. Her hands tightened slightly in her lap. The only movement she had made. "I don't know any locket. I don't know any photograph." Her eyes met mine steady. "I am an old woman and I am very tired. Please leave my home."

I stood there.

Looking at her.

At those eyes that used to be so sharp. So full. So certain.

Now flat. Empty. Like whatever had been living behind them had packed up and moved out.

I opened my mouth. Closed it.

Then I turned and walked out.

The door closed behind me.

I stood on the road outside in the dark. Lantern in my hand. The night air cold on my face.

This same woman.

This same woman who had chased me across market paths. Who had grabbed my hand. Who had cried in that crowd watching me stand above those flames.

Now she didn't know anything.

Didn't know Zoe. Didn't know Seraphina. Didn't know the twins.

Knew nothing.

I looked back at the closed door.

Jeremy had gone in there before me.

Few minutes. That was all he had been inside.

Few minutes and he had come back out.

And now the woman who had spent months trying to tell me the truth about myself had suddenly forgotten every single word of it.

What did you say to her Jeremy.

What did you say.