Chapter 7: The Woman They Buried
The facility looked exactly how I remembered.
That was the worst part.
The broken concrete.
The rusted fences.
The empty windows staring back at me.
My body remembered before my mind did.
My breathing changed.
My hands tightened.
Five years disappeared.
I was twenty feet away from the entrance when I heard footsteps.
“Harper.””
I froze.
I knew that voice.
I turned.
Emily Carter stood beneath the broken lights.
Alive.
Older.
Different.
But alive.
For several seconds, neither of us moved.
Then I crossed the distance between us.
I hit her.
Not hard.
Just enough.
Her face turned slightly.
Then she nodded.
“I deserved that.””
I hit her again.
This time harder.
“You let me think you were dead.””
Tears filled her eyes.
“I know.””
“You let me carry that guilt.””
“I know.””
“You let me believe I failed.””
Her voice broke.
“I know.””
I stopped.
Because she looked exactly like someone carrying the same pain.
“You should hate me,” she whispered.
“I tried.””
She looked at me.
“Did it work?””
I looked away.
“No.””
For a moment, we were soldiers again.
Not enemies.
Not strangers.
Just two people who survived something nobody else understood.
Emily led me inside.
The facility smelled like dust and old metal.
“This place…”
“I know.””
I touched the wall.
A memory flashed.
A room.
Bright lights.
Someone shouting.
My own voice.
“No.””
Emily stopped.
“You’re remembering.””
I turned.
“What happened here?””
She took a breath.
“After Nightfall, we discovered Victor wasn’t just monitoring the mission.””
“What was he doing?””
“Controlling it.””
I stared.
“He designed the operation.””
“Yes.””
“But why?””
Emily opened a locked door.
Inside was a small room.
A table.
Two chairs.
A camera.
My stomach turned.
“This was where they questioned me.””
Emily nodded.
“Not questioned.””
She looked at me.
“Reprogrammed.””
I felt sick.
“They tried to change my memories?””
“Yes.””
“Why?””
“Because you saw something.””
“What?””
Emily looked at the floor.
“You saw Victor order the strike.””
I froze.
“The strike?””
“The one that almost killed us.””
“No.””
“Yes.””
My head started pounding.
Fragments appeared.
A voice.
A command.
A face.
Victor.
I grabbed the table.
“I don’t remember.””
Emily stepped closer.
“Because they removed it.””
“Why did I survive?””
She looked at me.
“Because I stopped them.””
I stared.
“You?””
She nodded.
“I interrupted the procedure and got you out.””
“Then why didn’t you come back?””
Her eyes filled.
“Because they caught me.””
Silence.
“I spent five years trying to escape.””
I looked at her.
“Who helped you?””
Emily hesitated.
And that hesitation scared me.
“Emily.””
“Someone inside the Sterling family.””
My heart stopped.
“Who?””
She looked at me.
“Your father.””
I stepped back.
“No.””
“He tried to fix what he did.””
“What he did?””
Her expression changed.
“Harper…”
“No.””
I shook my head.
“My father didn’t know.””
“He knew enough.””
The words hurt.
Because they sounded familiar.
Because I had heard them before.
“Tell me.””
Emily swallowed.
“Your father approved the cover story.””
I felt the air leave my lungs.
“No.””
“He didn’t know Victor was behind everything at first.””
“But he lied.””
“Yes.””
“Why?””
Emily looked at me.
“Because Victor threatened him.””
“With what?””
“With you.””
I closed my eyes.
The anger.
The betrayal.
The confusion.
Everything collided.
Then my phone rang.
I answered.
No one spoke.
Then a voice.
My father’s voice.
“Harper, don’t trust Emily.””
I froze.
Emily looked at me.
The call continued.
“She’s lying to you.””
I stared at Emily.
Then my father’s next words came.
“She was the one who betrayed the mission.””
The call ended.
Emily whispered:
“He found us.””
A shadow moved outside the broken window.
Then another.
We weren’t alone.
Emily grabbed my arm.
“Harper.””
“What?””
“We need to leave.””
“Why?””
She looked terrified.
“Because Victor didn’t send people to capture us.””
A gunshot shattered the glass.
May you like
Emily pulled me down.
“He sent people to finish the job.””
