Chapter 10 – Closer Than Ever

By the end of the week, I couldn't ignore it anymore.

I felt like the walls were closing in — the whispers, the shadows that followed me, the way my mom looked at me like she was trying to figure out what I knew. As if she were about to say something, but couldn't bring herself to do it.

The truth was so close. And yet it felt like it was slipping away every time I tried to hold on.

I met Jace by the old oak tree behind the school after lunch. He'd called me earlier, his voice tight, and said he had something to show me. He wasn't the type to ask for help — so whatever it was, I knew it was important.

I found him there, holding a weathered folder. He handed it to me without saying a word.

I opened it slowly, my fingers trembling.

Inside were newspaper clippings, photographs, and handwritten notes. One of the clippings was dated June 2003 — nearly 12 years ago, just a few months before I was born.

Tyler Carter missing. Local teen suspected of foul play.

I felt my breath catch in my throat as I scanned the article.

The photo was grainy, but it was unmistakable — Tyler, looking younger, standing beside a woman I'd never seen before. Her eyes stared straight at the camera with an intensity that sent a chill down my spine.

But it wasn't just the photo that froze me. It was the name written below it:

"Nicole Cross – Missing Person"

I looked up at Jace, my voice barely a whisper. "My mom… she was missing too?"

He nodded. "They both were. But for different reasons. Tyler and your mom weren't just friends, Elena. They were involved in something bigger. Something they tried to bury."

I felt like the ground was slipping out from under me. "What do you mean? What was going on back then?"

Jace didn't answer immediately. Instead, he pulled out a letter — another one from Tyler.

"I made a deal. It wasn't supposed to be this way. But if anyone finds out, if anyone connects me to Nicole, then we're both dead. Keep her safe. Keep Elena safe."

I read the letter twice, trying to absorb its meaning. It was clear now that my mom had been hiding the truth from me for years. The truth about Tyler, and whatever they had gotten involved in. Whatever they had tried to protect me from.

A noise interrupted my thoughts. A crack of a twig behind us.

We both whipped around.

No one was there. But I couldn't shake the feeling that we were being watched. Again.

Jace's expression was unreadable, but his eyes darted toward the edge of the woods behind the school. He grabbed my arm, pulling me closer. "We need to go. Now."

I didn't argue.

We ran, leaving the tree and the papers behind, my heart hammering in my chest. But even as we fled, I couldn't shake the feeling that someone had been watching us. Someone who wasn't going to let us get away.