I Thought I Was Protecting My Father, But What I Discovered Changed Everything I Knew About Love and Loss
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Tracing Lila
“This is where she was last seen,” I muttered, shoving my phone into my pocket as Jake parked outside the hotel. A chill raced down my spine, the idea of walking into another woman’s mystery felt wrong, yet necessary.
Jake looked apprehensive. “Shouldn't we call someone? This seems... off.”
“And tell them what? That we think our dad's been a part of something horrific? No, we need to see this for ourselves.”
“Let’s just be careful, okay?”
We entered the dimly lit lobby, the smell of stale cigarettes lingering in the air. I felt the unease settle deep in my chest as we rode the creaky elevator to the second floor.
I pushed open the door of what I thought to be Lila’s room. It swung wide, revealing disarray: clothes tossed everywhere, a suitcase half-packed. But it was the door at the back that caught my eye, slightly ajar, beckoning us in.
“They all came here. Every single one of them,” I gasped, the realization crashing over me like cold water. “Elias didn’t just attract them—he led them to this.”
“We have to go. Whoever did this could come back.” Jake’s voice was frantic.
But as I turned to leave, something caught my eye in the corner—a crumpled note with Lila’s name scrawled across it, accompanied by an unsettling phrase: “You’ll never be alone again.”
The Confrontation
Back at home, adrenaline surged through me. I grabbed Elias’s wallet from the table; it felt like the key to unraveling everything. “I need answers,” I said, confronting him in the living room.
“What do you mean?” He looked up from his chair, confusion shadowing his features. “What are you talking about?”
“You’ve been talking to someone, haven’t you? Someone guiding you?” I demanded, my voice steady despite the fear clawing at the edges of my mind.
“Stop!” I shouted, holding up the wallet. “Who is Lila? Why do you have her picture?”
His face paled, realization dawning like a heavy weight. “I—I don’t know! I swear!” He started to tremble, clutching his head as if trying to erase the memories.
“You’re involved in something terrible, Dad. Women are disappearing, and it’s connected to you!”
Elias’s breath quickened. “I only want to find love! I didn’t mean for this to happen!”
But my heart was pounding loud, drowning out his words. I caught a glimpse of fear in his eyes, fear mixed with something darker. “You knew, didn’t you? You could have stopped this.”
“I didn’t know her!” he cried, but doubt lashed at me. As I turned away, one last image caught my eye—Lila’s photo slipping from the wallet onto the floor. I bent to pick it up, and a sharp knock echoed through the house.
My pulse quickened. Who could it be? I opened the door, and there she stood—Maren, alive but changed, her eyes blank and vacant.
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