Chapter 2: The Woman Who Was Supposed to Be Dead
I didn’t sleep that night.
Not because of the fight.
Not because three men from Black Crown had dragged my brother into a basement and used him as bait.
I had survived worse.
I had walked into rooms knowing everyone inside wanted to hurt me.
I had stood under bright lights while thousands of strangers screamed for someone to break my face.
Fear was something I understood.
But that photograph?
That was different.
Because fear was about what might happen.
That photograph was about what I thought had already happened.
I sat at my kitchen table with the picture lying in front of me.
The apartment was dark except for the small lamp above the stove.
Jake sat across from me, his hands wrapped around a cup of coffee he hadn’t touched in twenty minutes.
Neither of us spoke.
Finally, he whispered, “Ethan.””
I looked up.
“Tell me who she is.””
I stared back at the photograph.
The woman in the picture looked older than I remembered.
Her hair had more gray.
There were lines around her eyes.
But I knew that face.
I knew it better than my own.
“Her name was Claire.””
Jake frowned.
“Was?””
I swallowed.
“She was our mother.””
The words felt strange.
Like they belonged to someone else.
Jake looked down at the table.
“That’s impossible.””
“I know.””
“You said she died.””
“She did.””
“How?””
I leaned back in my chair.
And suddenly I was twenty years younger.
Standing in the rain.
Watching a police officer remove his hat before speaking.
Watching my father collapse onto the front steps.
Hearing the words that changed everything.
Car accident.
No survivors.
At least, that was what they told us.
Jake rubbed his face.
“You never talk about her.””
“Because there was nothing to say.””
“That’s not true.””
I looked at him.
His eyes were red.
“You remember more than I do.””
He nodded slowly.
“I remember she sang when she cooked.””
My chest tightened.
“She burned everything.””
Jake almost smiled.
“She did.””
“She made pancakes that were black on one side.””
“And she still made us eat them.””
“She said it was character building.””
For a few seconds, we were just brothers again.
Not two men sitting in the aftermath of a trap.
Not victims of Black Crown.
Just two kids remembering a woman who was supposed to be gone.
Then Jake looked at the photograph.
“Why would Black Crown show you this?””
I didn’t answer.
Because I already knew.
Or at least I knew the only answer that made sense.
They weren’t trying to scare me.
They were reminding me.
The young man in the basement hadn’t called me back because of a debt.
The debt was just a chain.
This was the lock.
“They know something,” I said.
Jake looked up.
“About Mom?””
“About me.””
His expression changed.
“Ethan…”
I stood.
“I need to go.””
“Where?””
“To find out why a dead woman is sending me messages.””
Jake immediately stood too.
“No.””
I turned.
“What?””
“You’re not going alone.””
“This isn’t your fight.””
His face hardened.
“Don’t say that.””
“Jake—”
“No.””
His voice cracked.
“I already made the mistake of keeping things from you. I’m not doing it again.””
I looked at my little brother.
The same kid who used to hide behind me when storms knocked out the power.
The same kid who once told me he wanted to be strong like me.
I had spent years protecting him.
Maybe I had forgotten he was an adult now.
“Fine,” I said.
He nodded.
“Fine.””
“But you listen to me.””
“What?””
“If I tell you to run, you run.””
His jaw tightened.
“Not happening.””
“Jake.””
“I’m done being the person everyone protects.””
The silence after that hit harder than I expected.
Because I realized something.
Black Crown didn’t just use him as bait.
They knew exactly where to hurt me.
They used my brother because they knew I would always come.
But they also underestimated him.
Jake wasn’t weak.
He was just trapped.
An hour later, we drove across the city.
The photograph sat between us.
Neither of us touched it.
The address we found was written inside the envelope.
A small apartment building on the east side.
Not the kind of place where someone with secrets should live.
That bothered me.
People with power usually hid behind gates.
Security cameras.
Private roads.
This place had broken lights and cracked windows.
“Are you sure about this?”” Jake asked.
“No.””
He looked surprised.
I glanced at him.
“I’m not going to pretend I know what’s happening.””
“That’s new.””
“What?””
“You always act like you have a plan.””
I looked out the window.
“I used to.””
“And now?””
“Now I think someone has been playing a game with me for eleven years.””
We parked across the street.
The building looked empty.
Too empty.
I hated that feeling.
The same feeling I got before entering a ring.
The moment when everything looked normal.
The moment before someone tried to hurt you.
I grabbed the photograph.
“Stay here.””
Jake immediately shook his head.
“Absolutely not.””
“Jake.””
“You already gave me the speech.””
He opened the car door.
“I’m coming.””
I sighed.
“Fine.””
We crossed the street.
The front door was unlocked.
That was the first warning.
The hallway smelled like dust.
Second warning.
No neighbors.
No voices.
No television sounds behind doors.
Third warning.
Someone wanted us here.
We reached the third floor.
Apartment 3B.
I knocked.
Nothing.
I knocked again.
“Claire?””
The name felt impossible coming from my mouth.
For a moment, nothing happened.
Then—
A lock turned.
The door opened.
An old man stood there.
He looked at me.
Then Jake.
Then the photograph in my hand.
His face changed.
Not surprise.
Recognition.
“You shouldn’t have come here.””
My hand tightened.
“Who are you?””
He looked behind us.
Then quickly grabbed my arm and pulled us inside.
The door slammed shut.
Jake reacted instantly.
“Get your hands off him.””
The man released me.
“Relax.””
“Who are you?”” I repeated.
He stared at me.
“My name is Daniel Mercer.””
The name meant nothing.
But the way he said it made me uneasy.
Like he expected me to know.
“Why do you know my mother?””
The old man looked toward the window.
“She knew this day would come.””
“What day?””
“The day Black Crown found you again.””
My stomach dropped.
“How do you know about Black Crown?””
He didn’t answer.
Instead, he walked to a cabinet.
Pulled out a small wooden box.
And placed it on the table.
“This belonged to your mother.””
I stared at it.
The wood was scratched.
Old.
Familiar.
Because I had seen it before.
“When I was a child…”
I stepped closer.
“My mother had this.””
Daniel nodded.
“She kept everything important inside.””
My fingers hovered over the box.
“What happened to her?””
The old man looked at me sadly.
“You were told she died.””
“Yes.””
“That was the first lie.””
Jake froze.
I looked at him.
“What?””
Daniel opened the box.
Inside were dozens of photographs.
Documents.
A small gold necklace.
And one folded piece of paper.
He handed it to me.
I unfolded it.
The handwriting was unmistakable.
My mother’s handwriting.
My breathing stopped.
*Ethan,*
*If you are reading this, they found you.*
The room became silent.
Jake moved closer.
“What does it say?””
I kept reading.
*I am sorry I left you. I am sorry I made you believe I was gone. But I had no choice.*
My hands started shaking.
The next line was worse.
*Your father did not die in an accident.*
I looked up.
Jake’s face had gone pale.
“What?””
I looked back down.
The final sentence on the page was written darker, as if she had pressed the pen harder.
*Black Crown killed him because he discovered what they were really building.*
A cold feeling spread through my body.
I looked at Daniel.
“My father knew about Black Crown?””
Daniel nodded.
“He knew too much.””
“Then why didn’t you tell us?””
His eyes dropped.
“Because your mother made me promise.””
“Promise what?””
He looked at me.
“To protect you until you were ready.””
I laughed once.
A bitter, empty sound.
“Ready for what?””
Daniel didn’t answer immediately.
Then he walked to another cabinet.
He pulled out a file.
Thick.
Old.
My name was written across the front.
Ethan Walker.
Jake stepped closer.
“What is that?””
Daniel placed it on the table.
“Everything Black Crown has done for the last twenty years.””
I stared at the folder.
“Why give this to me now?””
Daniel’s expression changed.
Because for the first time, he looked afraid.
“Because tonight wasn’t a test.””
I looked up.
“What do you mean?””
He opened the folder.
The first page was a list of names.
Some crossed out.
Some circled.
At the bottom was one name written in red.
Mine.
Daniel whispered:
“They weren’t checking if you could still fight.””
My heart pounded.
“Then what were they checking?””
He looked directly into my eyes.
“Whether you were ready to come home.””
Before I could respond, the lights suddenly went out.
The apartment fell into darkness.
Jake grabbed my shoulder.
“Ethan.””
A sound came from the hallway.
Footsteps.
Slow.
Heavy.
Someone stopped outside the door.
Then a woman’s voice came through the wood.
A voice I hadn’t heard in eleven years.
“Ethan…”
My entire body froze.
“Open the door.””
A pause.
May you like
Then the voice whispered:
“Your mother needs to talk to you.””
