Chapter 44 What He Refuses To Say
The silence inside the building pressed in around us, thick and uncomfortable, like the walls themselves were listening.
Kylen stood near the door, his chest rising and falling like he had rushed to get here, like he had been afraid of what he would find.
And he found me.
Standing in a place I didn’t even remember, staring at proof that I had once been here.
That I had lived something no one ever told me about.
I folded my arms slowly, trying to steady myself, trying to keep the emotions from spilling all over the place.
“You followed me,” I said.
Kylen didn’t deny it. He stepped further into the room, his eyes scanning everything like he was checking for something, or someone.
“I told you to stay away from this,” he said.
I let out a quiet, humorless laugh. “You also told me nothing. So here we are.”
That hit harder than I expected. I saw it in the way his jaw tightened, in the way his gaze dropped for a second before he forced himself to look back at me.
Adrian shifted beside me, not stepping back, not giving Kylen space. If anything, he stood a little straighter, like he was making a point without saying a word.
Kylen noticed. Of course he did.
His eyes flicked to Adrian, sharp and cold. “You really think bringing her here was a good idea?”
“I didn’t bring her,” Adrian replied calmly. “She chose to come.”
“That doesn’t make it smart.”
“That doesn’t make it your decision.”
The tension between them snapped tight, like something ready to break at any second.
“Stop,” I said, stepping forward. “Both of you.”
They didn’t look at each other anymore.
They looked at me.
Good.
Because I was done being talked around like I wasn’t standing right here.
“I found my name on that list,” I said, my voice steady now. “I found proof that I was in this place, and I don’t remember any of it. So I’m going to ask again, Kylen.”
I held his gaze, refusing to let him look away this time.
“What is this place?”
For a moment, I thought he would finally answer.
Something shifted in his expression, something close to surrender, like he was tired of holding it in.
But then it closed again.
Like a door slamming shut.
“It’s not safe,” he said instead.
My chest tightened. Not from fear. From frustration.
“That’s not an answer.”
“It’s the only one you’re getting right now.”
I stared at him, disbelief creeping in. “You think you still get to control this?”
“I’m trying to protect you.”
“There it is again,” I snapped. “Your favorite excuse.”
“It’s not an excuse.”
“Then prove it,” I said, my voice dropping.
Silence followed.
Of course it did.
It always did when it mattered most.
I shook my head slowly, stepping past him. “I’m done waiting for you to decide what I deserve to know.”
“Lenora,” he warned.
But I didn’t stop.
I moved deeper into the building, my footsteps echoing softly against the worn floor. The air felt heavier the further I went, like the place itself was holding onto something.
Something it didn’t want to let go.
“Don’t do this,” Kylen said behind me, his voice tighter now.
I turned just enough to look at him. “Then stop giving me reasons to.”
That shut him up.
For a second.
Then Adrian followed me, matching my pace easily. “If you’re going in, we check everything carefully,” he said quietly. “No rushing.”
I nodded. “I’m not rushing. I’m done being blind.”
We moved down the hallway, passing old doors with faded labels. Some were open, revealing empty rooms with broken furniture and peeling walls. Others were locked, untouched, like they were hiding something.
My chest tightened with every step.
I had been here.
I knew it now.
Even if I couldn’t remember it.
And that feeling… it was worse than fear.
It was unfamiliar familiarity.
Like standing in a memory that refused to come back.
“Here,” Adrian said, stopping in front of a door at the end of the hall.
It looked different from the others. Less worn. More intact.
I reached for the handle slowly.
Kylen grabbed my wrist before I could open it.
“Don’t,” he said.
I looked down at his hand, then back up at him. “You don’t get to stop me anymore.”
His grip loosened, but he didn’t let go immediately.
“This isn’t just about you,” he said quietly.
My heart twisted at that.
“Then start talking,” I replied.
He didn’t.
Again.
Always silence.
I pulled my hand away and opened the door.
The room inside was smaller than I expected. Cleaner too, like it had been used more recently than the rest of the building.
There was a desk.
A cabinet.
And a wall covered in old files.
My pulse picked up instantly.
“This wasn’t abandoned properly,” Adrian murmured.
I stepped inside slowly, my eyes scanning everything.
Then I saw it.
A label on one of the folders.
Lenora.
My breath caught.
“Again,” I whispered.
I moved toward it, my hands trembling slightly as I pulled the file free.
Kylen stepped into the room behind me, his presence tense, like he was seconds away from stopping me again.
But he didn’t.
This time… he just watched.
I opened the folder carefully.
Inside were more records.
More notes.
But these felt different.
More detailed.
More personal.
And then…
A photograph slipped out.
It hit the floor softly.
I bent down to pick it up.
And the moment I saw it…
Everything inside me went still.
It was me.
Younger.
Standing next to someone.
Someone I recognized immediately.
My breath caught.
“No…”
Kylen closed his eyes briefly, like he had been hoping I wouldn’t find that.
But it was too late.
I looked up at him slowly, the photo shaking slightly in my hand.
“You were there,” I said.
His silence this time wasn’t just hesitation.
It was confirmation.
And that changed everything.