Page 14 of Lost Echoes

7

Ember

The house appears empty when Luke and I step inside, but it’s easy to feel all alone in a place this size, even when others are nearby. Dad’s car wasn’t out front, which means he’s either visiting Kenzi or still at work. I wish he’d take me, but he insists on going alone. He thinks he’s protecting me, like I’m a little girl. Sometimes I feel like I have to give him that illusion since he missed all of my younger years.

Luke and I make our way upstairs to my room. He releases a long, slow breath. “You’ve really gotten serious about this.”

“Didn’t I tell you about the third computer?”

A smile tugs at his lips. “I’ve seen it. Multiple times. But all these notes and codes…” He looks around, and I realize what a mess I’ve created. It was easy to ignore before bringing him back up. “Well, I’ve been busy with my research. Cleaning can wait for another day.”

He pulls the chair from my vanity over to the computer desk and plops down. “Where should we start?”

I fill him in on what I’ve learned today—websites that people tried to delete from the internet but didn’t fully get rid of, strange cases of missing children with connections to Radley, and even a decade where the mysterious doctor has no mention at all. Like he disappeared and reappeared.

Luke pulls his laptop and snacks from his bag. “Let’s dig in.”

An icy wave runs through me. He doesn’t realize how deep this is. How dangerous it’s getting. It might not be a good idea to get him involved. More than he already is, anyway.

He looks at me expectantly. “Where do we start?”

“Are you sure you want to get involved?”

Hurt fills his eyes. “Why wouldn’t I? You’re involved, and I’ve already seen what that place can do to people. How many times do I have to tell you I’m not letting you do this alone?”

Guilt stings. “Just know you can walk away at any time. I don’t want you getting hurt too.”

“I’m more worried about you. Besides, I’ve been doing some digging on my own.”

“You have?” I sit in my computer chair and roll over to him. “Have you found anything?”

“I’m not sure, but it could be promising.” He taps on his keyboard before turning the screen toward me. “See this girl?”

It’s an old picture of a little girl. She looks strikingly like my mom when she was around that age. The similarities are so stark, I gasp. It has to be her.

Luke turns to me. “What’s the matter?”

“W-who is that?”

“Let me check.” He turns the computer back to him and taps around. “Claire Brannon. You know her?”

I can’t even blink.

Luke glances back at me. “Ember?”

“You… Claire? You’re sure? That’s… it’s not possible. She didn’t go there. To Radley.”

Everything swirls around me. This can’t be happening. She was involved too?

“Wait.” Luke’s eyes widen. “Your mom?”

It takes me a moment to recover from the gut punch. I can’t find words, so I nod.

His mouth falls open.

I study the photo on the screen before answering. “Yeah. Send me everything you have about her.” My mind swirls as I try to make sense of everything. My grandparents not only sent Kenzi and Billa to the mental facility, but my mom too? She was fifteen years older than they were.

How far back does this go? And what did my grandma and grandpa benefit from all of this? Did they fund the place? Or have a vested interest in the experiments?