Part 28– The Forgotten Past

The road stretched on, but the weight in Maya's chest only grew heavier. Who were her real parents? Why had she and Aditya been placed in that orphanage?

The estate was still miles away, yet her mind was already spinning.

Aditya exhaled sharply. "What if our parents didn't abandon us?" His voice was laced with something new—anger. "What if they were taken from us?"

Maya shuddered. The thought had crossed her mind, but hearing it aloud made it feel too real. "Then who would do that?"

Arjun, who had been quiet, scoffed. "You're assuming they were good people."

Maya shot him a glare. "What's that supposed to mean?"

Arjun shrugged. "I mean, for all we know, they could have been criminals. Or worse."

Aditya's hands tightened around the steering wheel. "Or they knew something they shouldn't have."

Maya glanced back down at the photograph. A group of children, standing in front of that eerie orphanage, smiling as if they had no idea what awaited them. Was it all connected to the visions?

Her head began to pound.

And then—a flash.

A vision.

The same iron gate from before. A voice—soft, familiar. "Maya… you have to remember."

A hand reached for hers. A woman's hand.

She gasped and snapped back to reality, her breathing ragged.

Arjun turned around instantly. "Another vision?"

Maya nodded, her heart racing.

Aditya glanced at her through the rearview mirror. "What did you see?"

Maya swallowed hard. "A woman. She was trying to tell me something. She—she wanted me to remember."

Arjun frowned. "Remember what?"

"I don't know," Maya whispered. "But I think… I think it was my mother."

The car fell into stunned silence.

Aditya's grip on the wheel tightened. "Then we need to find out what happened to her."

Maya nodded. She had to know. Even if the truth was terrifying.