: THE MAN WHO KNEW ELARA

### CHAPTER 5: THE MAN WHO KNEW ELARA

I found Julian downstairs the following morning, just as I had decided I would. He was seated in the sitting room with his laptop open and a cup of coffee beside him, scrolling through something on the screen. When he noticed me standing by the doorway, he looked up.

“Good morning. You’re up early.”

“I need to ask you something.”

He closed his laptop halfway. “That sounds serious. What is it?”

I crossed the room and sat opposite him. The previous night, I had gone to bed thinking about Aldric Kane and the little Julian had told me about him. It wasn't much, but it was enough to make me want to understand why Elara had kept their relationship to herself.

“Yesterday, you said Elara mentioned Aldric a few times, but you never really knew what was going on between them.”

Julian nodded slowly. “That's right.”

“Did she ever tell you where they met or how they knew each other?”

“No. Why? Did you remember something?”

“Not exactly.” I adjusted the sleeve of my top, trying to find a way to explain what I couldn't quite put into words. “His name keeps coming back to me, but whenever I try to remember anything about him, I get fragments. I thought you might know something that could help.”

Julian leaned back against the sofa. “I wish I could help more, but Elara didn't tell me much about her personal life. I only met Aldric once at a business event. He seemed like the kind of man who was used to getting what he wanted.”

“Did you dislike him?”

“I didn't know him well enough to dislike him.” Julian paused, considering his answer. “But I wouldn't trust someone just because he was wealthy or well connected. Men like him usually have their own reasons for doing things.”

I remembered the voice in my head, low and controlled, speaking words I couldn't place in a conversation.

You know what I expect from you.

“What if he expects something from Elara?” I asked.

Julian's expression grew serious. “Has he contacted you?”

I hesitated, then nodded. “He called yesterday.”

“And you didn't think to tell me?”

“I wanted to understand who he was before making a big deal out of it.” I met his gaze. “He asked to see me, but he wouldn't tell me why.”

Julian set his coffee down. “Did you agree?”

“Tomorrow, at three.”

He let out a breath and rubbed his forehead. “Elara, you just came home. You don't have to rush into meeting people from your past when you're still trying to recover your memories.”

“I know, but if I keep avoiding everyone whose name I don't understand, I'll never find out what happened before the accident.”

He watched me quietly. I could tell he wasn't entirely convinced, but he didn't try to stop me.

“Fine,” he said at last. “If you're going to meet him, let me know where you're going. And don't agree to anything just because he makes it sound like you owe him.”

“I won't.”

“I'm serious.”

“So am I.”

His expression softened a little. “All right. I'll see if I can find out anything else about him.”

“Thank you, Julian.”

I stood, but before I could leave, he called after me.

“And Elara?”

I turned back.

“Whatever happened before the accident, you don't have to figure everything out in one day. If something feels wrong, walk away. You don't owe anyone an explanation for protecting yourself.”

I nodded, then went upstairs with his words still in my mind.

Back in my room, I picked up my phone and opened Aldric's messages. His last text contained the meeting time, but no address yet. I wondered what sort of conversation he had planned and why he seemed so certain that I would agree to see him.

I tried to reach further into Elara's memories, searching for a clear image of their last meeting. A dark suit, a quiet room, his voice. Nothing else came. The harder I tried, the more the memory slipped away, leaving me with the same few words.

I closed my eyes for a moment, then gave up. I wasn't going to force a memory to appear just because I needed an answer.

My phone rang.

The unfamiliar number made me pause, but when I answered, I recognised the voice almost immediately.

“Elara.”

Aldric.

“I've been trying to reach you,” he said.

“You called me yesterday.”

“And you agreed to meet me. I wasn't sure you'd follow through.”

“Why wouldn't I?”

“Because you've been avoiding me.”

I sat down on the edge of the bed. “Have I?”

He was quiet for a moment. “You really don't remember much, do you?”

My grip tightened around the phone. It was the closest he had come to acknowledging my memory loss, and I couldn't tell whether he was concerned or simply trying to find out how much I knew.

“Some things are clearer than others,” I replied.

“I see.”

“Do you? Because you haven't exactly been helpful.”

A low laugh came through the phone. “You're different.”

“People keep telling me that.”

“Perhaps there's a reason for it.”

“Then why don't you tell me what it is?”

“Some things are better discussed in person.”

There it was again. Another answer that told me nothing.

I glanced at the clock on my bedside table. “You asked to see me, Aldric. If you have something to say, say it.”

“Tomorrow, three o'clock. I'll send you the address.”

“You already told me the time. I want to know what this meeting is about.”

“And I want to speak to you properly. Is that so unreasonable?”

“Not at all. But neither is asking why a man who has barely explained himself suddenly wants to meet me.”

He fell silent. For a few seconds, neither of us spoke.

Then he said, “I'll see you tomorrow, Elara.”

The call ended before I could respond.

I stared at the screen, annoyed by how easily he had avoided every question I asked. Still, the conversation had given me something useful. Aldric knew my memory was incomplete, and he had noticed a change in the way I spoke to him. Whether he suspected anything beyond that, I couldn't tell.

A message arrived a few minutes later with an address.

Aldric: Tomorrow. Three o'clock. Don't be late.

I read it, then set my phone aside.

I would go to the meeting, but not because Aldric expected me to. I needed answers, and he might have some of them. If he wanted something from Elara, I intended to find out what it was before deciding whether he deserved anything from me.

There were other questions waiting for me, too.

Daniel and Gracious.

Even thinking about their names brought back pieces of the night Elara discovered their betrayal. I remembered the shock of finding them together, the excuses that followed, and Gracious revealing that Elara had been adopted as though it were another weapon she could use against her.

Elara had left that night with her entire world turned upside down. Before she could make sense of what had happened, the accident had taken her life.

Mine had ended in a different world, in a palace consumed by fire. I remembered the heat, the confusion, and a voice calling my name, but the final moments remained beyond my reach. Now I was living with Elara's memories, trying to understand the people who had shaped her life while carrying questions of my own.

I couldn't afford to confuse what I remembered with what I still needed to discover. Daniel and Gracious had hurt Elara, but I didn't yet know how much they had planned or whether there was more to their betrayal than she had witnessed that night.

I would deal with them when I had enough information to understand what I was dealing with.

For now, Aldric came first.

I picked up my phone once more and saved the address he had sent. Tomorrow, I would sit across from a man who seemed to know more about Elara than he was willing to admit, and I would listen to what he had to say.

But I wouldn't let him control the conversation.

If Aldric Kane wanted something from Elara, he would have to explain himself to me.