Chapter 47 What You Hid From Me
The silence after he left didn’t feel empty.
It felt loud.
Like everything he said was still echoing in the room, pressing into my head, refusing to settle into something I could understand.
Different.
Watched.
Strongest case.
I turned slowly to Kylen, the file still clutched in my hand, the photo crumpled slightly between my fingers without me realizing it.
“You knew all of that,” I said.
My voice was quiet, but it carried.
Kylen didn’t answer immediately. He stood there, tense, like every word he could say was fighting to come out and stay in at the same time.
“That man knew you,” I continued. “He talked to you like this wasn’t new. Like you’ve been part of this the entire time.”
Still nothing.
Something inside me snapped.
“Say something,” I demanded, louder now. “Because I’m really close to thinking you’ve been lying to me about everything.”
“I wasn’t lying,” he said finally.
I let out a sharp breath. “You just didn’t tell me the truth. Which is basically the same thing.”
“That’s not fair.”
“Fair?” I repeated, disbelief creeping into my tone. “You want to talk about fair right now?”
I stepped closer to him, closing the distance he always tried to keep when things got real.
“You knew who I was before I even knew who you were,” I said. “You knew about this place. You knew about whatever is wrong with me—”
“There’s nothing wrong with you,” he cut in sharply.
“Then what is it?” I shot back.
Silence.
Again.
My chest tightened painfully.
“Every time it matters, you shut down,” I said, my voice cracking slightly now despite trying to hold it steady. “Every time I get close to the truth, you pull back like I’m not supposed to know.”
“I’m trying to keep you safe.”
“There it is again,” I said, shaking my head. “Your excuse for everything.”
“It’s not an excuse.”
“Then prove it,” I said, my voice dropping.
Kylen looked at me like he wanted to. Like he really wanted to just say everything and be done with it.
But something held him back.
Something stronger than whatever was between us.
“You don’t understand what happens if you know everything,” he said quietly.
“Then let it happen,” I replied immediately.
His expression tightened. “It’s not that simple.”
“It is for me,” I said. “Because I’m the one living in it without answers.”
The room fell silent again, but this time it felt like something was breaking underneath it.
Adrian finally moved, stepping closer but not interrupting the space between us completely.
“He’s not the only one who knows,” Adrian said calmly.
I turned slightly. “What?”
“That man,” Adrian continued. “He didn’t just show up randomly. He’s been watching this unfold. Which means there are more people involved.”
My stomach dropped.
“So what… this whole thing is bigger than just us?”
Kylen let out a quiet breath. “Yes.”
That one word carried more weight than anything else he had said.
I ran a hand through my hair, pacing slightly now, my thoughts spiraling.
“So let me get this straight,” I said. “I was placed in some facility I don’t remember, watched like some kind of experiment, and somehow you were there too. And now people are breaking into my house for a file and calling me like I’m part of something I don’t even understand.”
Neither of them corrected me.
Which meant I wasn’t wrong.
“That’s insane,” I muttered.
“It is,” Adrian agreed quietly.
I stopped pacing, turning back to Kylen.
“And you still think keeping me in the dark is helping?”
His jaw tightened. “I think throwing you into it all at once will destroy you.”
That hurt more than I expected.
“You don’t get to decide what I can handle,” I said.
His voice dropped. “I’ve seen what happens when people like us get pushed too far.”
The words hung in the air.
People like us.
That again.
“What does that even mean?” I asked, softer now but no less intense.
Kylen hesitated.
Then, slowly, he stepped closer.
“Have you noticed anything… different about yourself?” he asked.
I frowned. “Like what?”
He studied me for a second, like he was choosing his words carefully.
“Your reactions,” he said. “The way you pick up on things before they happen. The way you read people. The way you feel things stronger than others.”
My chest tightened slightly.
I had noticed that.
I just never thought it meant anything.
“That’s normal,” I said, though it didn’t sound convincing even to me.
Kylen shook his head slowly. “No. Not like that.”
Silence settled again, heavier now, more focused.
Adrian’s gaze flicked between us, sharper, more calculating.
“You’re saying this place did something to you,” Adrian said.
Kylen didn’t answer directly.
But he didn’t deny it either.
A chill ran down my spine.
“Did something… or found something,” I whispered.
Kylen looked at me, and for a second, something like approval flickered in his eyes.
“Exactly.”
My heart started racing again.
“So what are we?” I asked.
That question…
That was the one everything had been building toward.
Kylen opened his mouth.
This time…
He was going to answer.
I could see it.
Feel it.
But before he could say a word—
A loud crash echoed from somewhere deeper in the building.
All three of us froze.
Not again.
Adrian turned immediately, alert. “That’s not the wind.”
Kylen’s expression darkened.
“They’re back,” he said.
My heart dropped.
“They?”
But I already knew.
The people who wanted the file.
The people who were watching.
The people who weren’t done with me yet.
Kylen grabbed my wrist, pulling me slightly behind him again.
“Stay close,” he said.
This time…
I didn’t argue.
Because whatever this was…
It wasn’t just about answers anymore.
It was about survival.