Nobody spoke after the call ended.
Victor sat quietly.
Kael's father looked troubled.
And I, I could barely breathe.
"Nora is the key."
Those words repeated inside my head.
Not me.
Not my father.
Nora.
The younger sister I spent years protecting.
The sister who hated conflict.
The sister who never cared about power.
How could she possibly be connected to something important enough to destroy lives?
Victor finally broke the silence.
"We need to think."
"I don't want to think," I snapped.
"I want my sister back."
"I know," he answered gently.
"But emotions won't bring her home."
I closed my eyes.
He was right.
As much as I hated it, He was right.
Kael's father suddenly spoke.
"There may be something you don't know."
I looked at him immediately.
"Then tell me."
He hesitated.
"Years ago, after your father's accident…"
"Accident?" I interrupted.
Victor lowered his eyes.
"It wasn't an accident."
The room fell silent again.
"What are you talking about?"
Victor sighed heavily.
"Your father was attacked."
My heartbeat slowed.
"Why didn't you tell me?"
"Because your father ordered me not to."
Another lie.
Another secret.
Another burden he carried alone.
Kael's father continued.
"After the attack, your father feared something."
"What?"
"That his enemies would target his children."
I swallowed hard.
"And?"
"He created protections."
"What kind of protections?"
Nobody answered immediately.
That silence terrified me.
Finally, Victor whispered:
"Memory protections."
I stared at him.
"What does that mean?"
"It means Nora was made to forget something."
The world stopped.
"No."
"Yes."
"That's impossible."
"Your father believed forgetting would save her."
I couldn't process it.
Memories?
Forgotten?
Hidden?
"Nora knows something?" I whispered.
Victor nodded.
"Something even she doesn't remember."
Suddenly, my mother's words made terrifying sense.
Nora is the key.
Not because she chose to be.
Because my father made her one.
Then my phone vibrated.
Kael.
Finally.
His message contained only one sentence.
Don't let them awaken her memories too quickly.
My heart nearly stopped.
Because that meant one thing.
Kael already knew.
And suddenly I had a new question.
How much had Kael known from the beginning?
If memories can be hidden, would you choose to forget painful truths, or would you rather know everything?