FAZER LOGINThe memory hit me so hard that my knees nearly gave out. I grabbed the edge of the table while Jace caught my shoulder, but I barely noticed him. I was no longer standing in the abandoned room. I was back there, seven months ago, trapped inside a memory that had been buried beneath fear and confusion. I could see the same room clearly now, including the medical equipment, the chair in the center, and my mother standing beside me with tears running down her face. Ethan was there too, standing between me and someone else, and his voice was shaking as he told that person to stay away from me.I could hear the conversation now, but the words came in broken pieces. My mother was begging someone not to hurt me, while Ethan kept insisting that they had already gone too far. I remembered being confused and frightened, asking why everyone was arguing about something I didn’t understand. Then the person behind me stepped closer. I couldn’t see their face clearly, but I remembered the sound of t
The photograph on my phone made it difficult to breathe. My mother stood beside the same person I had seen in the old photograph, and the message beneath the picture kept burning into my mind: ASK HER WHY SHE LIED. I stared at my mother’s face, searching for some explanation in her expression, but the photograph gave me nothing. She looked calm, almost as if she had no idea that years later, her image would become the center of a nightmare I couldn’t escape.Jace noticed my hands trembling and gently took the phone from me. He studied the photograph before looking at me with concern. Carter, don’t let whoever sent this control what you do next. I knew he was right, but hearing my mother’s name connected to another secret only made the anger inside me grow. I told him that I had spent my entire life trusting my mother, and now I didn’t even know which memories were real. According to Marcus, she had died seven months ago, yet someone had been using her number to contact me, sending mes
I stared at the photograph in my hands, unable to turn my face away from the person standing behind Ethan and me. Only part of their face was visible, but something about them felt painfully familiar. I had seen that face before. I knew I had, even though my mind refused to give me the memory completely. The harder I tried to remember, the more my head throbbed, as if my own mind was fighting against me.Who is that person? Jace asked, leaning closer to the photograph.I swallowed and shook my head. I don’t know their name, but I’ve seen them before. The words came out quietly, yet the certainty behind them frightened me. I had seen that face somewhere long before I came to this university. I closed my eyes and tried to reach deeper into the memory, and this time, something finally surfaced. I saw myself as a child standing beside my mother in a hallway. She was holding my hand tightly while the same person stood several feet away, speaking to her. I couldn’t hear the conversation, bu
I couldn’t stop staring at the photograph Marcus had placed in front of me. Ethan and I were standing together, much younger than we were now, with basketballs tucked beneath our arms and easy smiles on our faces. The image should have brought back a flood of memories, but instead, my mind remained frustratingly blank. I knew the face beside me belonged to Ethan, yet my memories refused to tell me why he looked so familiar. The more I stared at the photograph, the more uncomfortable I became.How long did I know him? I finally asked, my voice quieter than I intended.Marcus didn’t answer immediately. His hesitation made my stomach tighten, and when he finally looked at me, there was something almost apologetic in his expression. He told me that Ethan had known me long before the championship and long before I came to the university. I shook my head, unable to accept it. If that was true, then why couldn’t I remember him? Marcus explained that someone had made sure I wouldn’t remember.
For several seconds, I could only stare at Marcus. My mind refused to accept what my eyes were seeing. He was supposed to be dead. Coach Daniels had told me that Marcus Reed had died six months ago in a car accident, and I had believed him because there had never been a reason for me to question it. Yet Marcus was standing in front of me in the underground room, breathing normally, looking at me as if the past seven months had been nothing more than a long game of hide and seek.You’re alive, I whispered, barely recognizing my own voice.Marcus’s expression remained serious. I am, but I wasn’t supposed to be found this soon.Jace immediately moved in front of me, blocking Marcus from getting closer. Don’t take another step. Marcus looked at him calmly before shifting his attention back to me. If I wanted Carter dead, Jace, I wouldn’t have spent seven months keeping him alive. My anger rose instantly. Keeping me alive? I stepped around Jace, unable to hold myself back any longer. You d
The words on the security screen refused to leave my mind. Carter entered the underground room at 11:12 p.m. I stared at the record, waiting for someone to tell me there had been a mistake, but nobody did. My hands were cold despite the warmth in the room, and the silver key felt strangely heavy in my palm. I had spent seven months believing that night had nothing to do with me, only to discover that I had been inside this university while Ethan was still alive. The worst part was knowing there was a version of me who remembered everything I had forgotten.Jace stepped closer and placed a hand against my back. Carter, breathe. I tried, but my thoughts were moving too quickly. How did I get inside? I asked. The security officer brought up another record and explained that I hadn’t used my student ID. The door had been opened manually from inside. My stomach tightened at the realization. Then someone let me in. Coach looked at Jace before answering that either someone had opened the doo







