The alley was empty.
Julian stood motionless.
The stranger was gone.
But his voice remained in Julian's head.
You remembered.
Mara reached him first.
"Julian."
He didn't respond.
The other man came seconds later, breathing heavily.
"Where did he go?"
Julian looked toward the end of the alley.
"I don't know."
The stranger studied him.
"What happened?"
"He knew me."
Mara's face tightened.
"Of course he did."
Julian turned toward her.
"What does that mean?"
She didn't answer.
He stepped closer.
"Mara."
"I don't know who he is."
"But you know what he wanted."
She looked at him.
"Yes."
"What?"
"You."
Silence.
Julian looked at the darkness.
"Why?"
"Because you're the only thing left from that night."
His eyes narrowed.
"I'm not a thing."
"I know."
Mara lowered her voice.
"That's exactly why they're afraid."
Julian felt something shift inside him.
"Who's afraid?"
Mara didn't answer.
The stranger suddenly looked toward the street.
"Someone's coming."
Julian listened.
An engine.
Slow.
Approaching.
Mara grabbed his arm.
"This way."
They moved through the alley and into an abandoned building.
The stranger shut the door behind them.
They stood in darkness.
Julian's breathing was steady now.
Too steady.
He noticed.
That frightened him more than panic would have.
He wasn't reacting like someone who had just been shot at.
He was calculating.
Distances.
Exits.
Windows.
Blind spots.
Weapons.
Every possible route.
The stranger watched him.
"You're doing it again."
"Doing what?"
"Thinking like him."
Julian looked at him.
"Maybe I never stopped."
The words silenced the room.
Mara looked away.
Julian noticed.
"What?"
"Nothing."
"You recognized something."
"No."
"Mara."
She sighed.
"Locke used to say that."
"What?"
"That maybe he never stopped being himself."
Julian's chest tightened.
"When?"
"Before you disappeared."
A memory flickered.
A room.
A desk.
Mara sitting across from him.
The black case between them.
Julian laughing.
Not warmly.
Almost bitterly.
Maybe there was never a Julian and a Locke. Maybe there was only me.
The memory disappeared.
Julian closed his eyes.
Mara whispered,
"You remembered that."
He opened them.
"Yes."
"What else?"
"Nothing."
But it wasn't true.
There was something else.
A name.
Not Locke.
Not Julian.
Someone had called him something else that night.
He couldn't hear it clearly.
Yet the feeling remained.
Someone standing close.
A hand on his shoulder.
A voice saying—
Come home.
Julian's eyes opened.
Silas.
He knew the voice.
It had been Silas.
But the memory didn't make sense.
Silas hadn't sounded possessive.
He hadn't sounded angry.
He had sounded afraid.
Julian turned toward Mara.
"Did Silas know me before the accident?"
Mara stared at him.
"Yes."
"How long?"
"Long enough."
"That's not an answer."
"No."
She looked down.
"Because I don't know how far back it goes."
Julian's expression hardened.
"You said you knew what happened."
"I know what happened that night."
"Not before?"
"No."
He studied her.
Then he noticed something.
Her hand.
She was wearing a thin silver ring.
Julian stared at it.
His breathing stopped.
He had seen that ring before.
Not on her.
On himself.
A memory flashed.
His own hand.
The same ring.
Mara's voice.
Keep it. If you lose me, follow the mark.
Julian grabbed her wrist.
"Where did you get that?"
Mara froze.
The stranger immediately stepped forward.
"Julian."
"Don't."
Julian stared at the ring.
"You gave this to me."
Mara's eyes widened.
"Yes."
"Why?"
She slowly pulled her hand free.
"Because you asked me to."
"When?"
"The night before you disappeared."
Julian felt the room tilt.
"Why?"
Mara looked at him.
"Because you knew someone would come looking for you."
"Who?"
She hesitated.
Then said:
"Silas."
The name echoed through the empty building.
Julian stared at her.
"You expected Silas to come after me."
"Yes."
"Why?"
Mara's voice dropped.
"Because you were going to leave him."
Julian went completely still.
"You said we were working together."
"We were."
"You said I erased myself."
"You did."
"Then why would I leave Silas?"
Mara looked directly into his eyes.
"Because you found out what he had done."
Julian's heartbeat thundered.
"What did he do?"
Mara shook her head.
"I can't tell you."
"Why?"
"Because you need to remember it yourself."
Julian almost laughed.
"Everyone keeps saying that."
"Because the moment someone tells you, you'll question whether it's true."
She stepped closer.
"But when you remember it yourself, nobody can change it."
Julian looked at her.
For the first time, he understood why everyone was so afraid of his memories.
Not because remembering would make him dangerous.
Because remembering would make him impossible to control.
His phone vibrated.
A message.
A.
You finally asked the right question.
Julian stared at the screen.
Then another message arrived.
Now ask Mara why Silas was afraid of you.
Julian slowly raised his eyes.
Mara was already watching him.
She knew.
"Why was Silas afraid of me?"
Mara's lips parted.
Before she could answer, the building lights suddenly came on.
All of them.
One after another.
The stranger reached for his weapon.
Mara turned toward the windows.
Julian didn't move.
A voice came from the other side of the room.
Calm.
Familiar.
Impossible.
"You shouldn't have come looking for the truth."
Julian's blood went cold.
Silas stepped out of the shadows.
But he wasn't alone.
Two armed men stood behind him.
Silas looked directly at Julian.
His expression wasn't angry.
It was almost sad.
Then his eyes dropped to the key in Julian's hand.
"You found it."
Julian tightened his fingers around it.
Silas smiled faintly.
"I wondered how long it would take you."
And Julian finally understood.
The key had never been hidden from Silas.
It had been hidden for Julian.
By someone who knew exactly what Silas would do when he found it.