Chapter 64: What memories sound like when they wake up..

Layla’s POV

The world came back to me in fragments.

Cold air, Caleb’s voice somewhere far, my own breath shaking.

And that photo, the face that ripped open the door in my head.

I blinked hard, trying to steady the spinning inside my skull.

Caleb sat completely still beside me, like he was scared one wrong move would shatter me again.

“Layla,” he said quietly, “breathe, talk to me. What did you see?”

I swallowed and my mouth was dry.

“I… I know that face,” I whispered.

His jaw tightened, but he didn’t interrupt.

“It was fast at first,” I said, pressing my fingers to my forehead. “Just a flash. But then… it started forming. It started making sense.”

Caleb waited, his eyes locked on mine. He wasn’t pushing, but he wasn’t letting me hide either.

“It’s my uncle,” I finally said.

His expression didn’t change. But I felt the shift in the air.

“Stanley Backwood,” I added. “My dad’s brother.”

Caleb’s eyes narrowed slightly, like that confirmed something he had already suspected.

“I remember…”