Edge of the Dark

Chapter 142: Chapter 141: The Forgotten Story

The city sprawled beneath Ethan, but it was a different world now. The sky had turned a faint shade of violet, the last traces of the day's light lingering like a memory, unwilling to let go of the fleeting moments. The streets below were bustling, but Ethan felt disconnected, as if he were an observer rather than a participant in the world around him. The past few weeks had left him hollow, each step forward seemingly pushing him deeper into the labyrinth of his own thoughts. The weight of everything he'd seen, everything he'd lost, sat heavily on his chest.

He walked along the street, the rhythmic sound of his footsteps merging with the hum of city life. Yet, no matter how many steps he took, no matter how many faces he passed by, there was an absence, a void within him that refused to be filled. Even now, with Grace by his side and the remnants of their victory still echoing in his mind, he couldn't escape the sense that something was missing. Something important, something vital that had slipped through the cracks of time, forgotten by all.

As he turned the corner, his thoughts were interrupted by the familiar sound of a ringing phone. He pulled it from his pocket, his gaze flicking to the screen. The name that appeared was one he hadn't seen in a while, not since before everything had started to unravel. Lila.

Without hesitation, he answered the call.

"Ethan," Lila's voice crackled over the line, sharp and direct as always. "We need to talk. There's something you need to know."

Her tone was urgent, but there was something else, something unsettling in the way she spoke. Ethan felt a cold shiver crawl up his spine.

"What is it?" he asked, his voice cautious, as if anticipating the worst.

"I've been digging into something," she said, her words measured but tense. "Something that's been buried for a long time. And I think you need to hear this before it's too late."

"Buried?" Ethan asked, his heart rate picking up. "What are you talking about, Lila?"

"There's a story," she said, her voice lowering, almost as if she were afraid someone would overhear. "A story that's been forgotten, one that shouldn't have been buried. And it has everything to do with what happened to you. What happened to all of us. But it's not what we thought it was."

Ethan's mind raced. The last few months had been a chaotic mess of revelations, battles, and revelations. What else could there possibly be? What had been left in the shadows for so long?

"Tell me," he urged, his grip tightening around the phone.

"I'll send you everything I've found," she said. "But you have to promise me something first. Promise me you won't ignore this. You can't walk away from it again."

Ethan felt a strange sense of dread well up inside him. He had been walking away from things for too long — burying them beneath layers of distractions and lies. But Lila's words were a siren call, pulling him back to the heart of the storm he had so desperately tried to escape.

"I won't ignore it," he said, his voice firm. "Send me everything."

The line went quiet for a moment, and then she spoke again. "You were never meant to know this, Ethan. It wasn't just a conspiracy or a crime. It's bigger than that. You were part of it, whether you knew it or not."

The words hit him like a punch to the gut. A part of it? Ethan's mind spun, his thoughts scattering like dust in the wind. He had always believed that he was a player in this game, a piece moving around a board he didn't fully understand. But to hear Lila say he was part of it — that was a different thing entirely.

"I'll be in touch soon," she added, her voice a little quieter now. "Just... be careful, Ethan. This goes deeper than you think."

The line clicked, and the call ended. Ethan stood there for a moment, staring at the screen, the silence surrounding him more suffocating than any noise could have been.

A story that had been forgotten. Something buried. Something that connected him to all of this. His pulse quickened. What did it mean? What was Lila talking about? n/ô/vel/b//in dot c//om

He needed answers. No — he needed the truth.

Without wasting another second, he headed straight for the apartment. He had to get the documents, the information. Whatever it was, he knew this was no longer a matter of simply surviving or finding closure. This was about unraveling the very fabric of his existence, the mystery that had been lurking beneath the surface for far too long.

As he stepped into the apartment, the smell of coffee and old books filled the air, grounding him momentarily in a familiar, safe place. Grace was seated at the kitchen table, her expression distant. She had noticed the change in him, the shift in his demeanor, but she didn't ask. Not yet. She had learned by now that sometimes silence spoke more than words.

"Ethan," she said, looking up at him, "what's going on? What did she say?"

He hesitated for a moment, but the urgency of the situation forced him to speak. "Lila... she's found something. Something I need to see."

Grace's brow furrowed. "What is it? What did she find?"

"I don't know yet," Ethan replied, his voice tight. "But I'm going to find out."

Grace stood and walked over to him, placing a hand on his arm. "You don't have to do this alone, Ethan. Whatever it is, we face it together."

For the first time in days, he allowed himself a small, weary smile. "I know. But this... this is something I have to understand for myself."

Grace nodded, though she still seemed uncertain. "Just promise me you'll be careful."

"I will," he said, though even as the words left his mouth, he knew there was no way to guarantee that.

Ethan pulled open the drawer where his laptop sat, powered it on, and waited for the screen to load. Lila's message came through almost immediately, a stack of files waiting for him to sift through. His hands shook slightly as he clicked open the first document. As the words loaded on the screen, a sense of dread began to settle over him, creeping through his veins like poison.

The first thing he saw was a name — Ava Dawson. A name he hadn't thought about in weeks, not since her involvement had seemed to fade into the background. But now, reading the details in front of him, he understood why Lila had warned him.

Ava's involvement went far deeper than he had realized. Her connection to the events that had shaped his life, to the people he had trusted, was more significant than any of them could have known. The story that had been buried wasn't just about the conspiracy — it was about Ava, and about a choice she had made that had set everything in motion.

It wasn't just a forgotten story. It was a story he was a part of.

The weight of the revelation slammed into him with all the force of a tidal wave, and for a moment, he could hardly breathe. What had he gotten himself into? What was the true cost of everything he had done, everything he had uncovered?

His fingers hovered over the keyboard as the documents piled up, each one more damning than the last. Every file, every word, pointed toward a conclusion he wasn't sure he was ready to accept.

But there was no turning back now. The truth was finally here. And he would have to face it, no matter how painful, no matter how dark.

The forgotten story had found its way back to him. And now, he had no choice but to unravel it.