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Chapter 8: Beneath the surface

Author: Jessie Jane
last update Last Updated: 2025-07-01 23:37:37

Hayden wasn’t the boy she was kidnapped with.

He wasn’t the boy she watched being beaten till he bled.

He wasn’t the one who shielded her body with his and took a bullet that night.

And yet, for all these years, Briella had believed he was.

Her chest tightened as the memories came rushing back, bare feet on cold floors, the blood smell and his scream.

Tears welled up in her eyes as she stared at Jaylen, the man standing before her now.

“When we first met... you said you lost your memory.” Her voice barely above a whisper “How?”

Jaylen lowered his eyes.

“I did.” He nodded slowly. “I got into a car crash. With my parents or so I thought they were. I was the only survivor.”

Briella was confused if Jaylen was Hayden twin they should share the same parents right?

He looked up with sorrow in his eyes. “After my real parents died, I did some digging. Turns out, I was stolen at birth and taken to London. Raised by the people I thought were my real family.”

Briella stood frozen.

“They were w
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