"What They Took"
People say darkness hides things.
They forget it hides people too.
For years, I let myself stay buried, out of sight, out of reach, out of the world's narrative, while my brother painted the story he wanted them to believe. All bright colors, polished lies, and a version of me that never existed.
Maybe that is my real mistake.
Staying in the cave long enough for them to build a throne out of my silence.
But tonight, I can feel the stone cracking.
Aria sits across from me, her legs folded beneath her, watching me with a softness I do not deserve. Something inside me steps toward her before I even speak.
"I need to tell you something," I say quietly.
She nods like she has been waiting.
"My entire legacy, everything the world thinks they know about me, it is a lie."
Her breath pauses, her eyes steady on mine.
"They took my work, my accomplishments, my sacrifices. And they buried the truth so deep the world forgot to ask questions." I inhale. "But what they buried is coming out alive."
A flicker crosses her face, shock mixed with certainty, like she always knew there was more.
"My brother hired you to write a memoir," he said, watching her face closely. "He gave Miss Julia the instructions. Arranged everything. He thinks he's honoring me… finishing the story I died before completing. He wants the world to see him as the good brother who carried my legacy."
I laugh once, low and harsh.
"He thinks he is doing me a favor, that this is the moment he immortalizes me with his version of the story. But what he does not know is that I am done hiding."
Her eyes widen.
"It is time I come out of the cave I have been hiding in," I say, voice firming, "and take back what is mine."
She opens her mouth, then closes it again.
"And you, Aria, you are the one person who can help me do it the right way. Not because I need saving. Because I need someone who respects the truth enough to carry it without twisting it into something else."
Her breath catches.
"You are the first person who has looked me in the eye and cared about my truth," I say. "The first person who listens without running to turn it into noise."
Something vulnerable slips into her expression, softening the hollow places in my chest.
"I am going to use their memoir," I say, leaning forward, "as the weapon they never saw coming."
Aria whispers, "How?"
"By telling the truth."
I hold her gaze. "Because the truth is not a confession. It is a weapon. And it is the only one that scares them."
She swallows, eyes shining, like she is seeing the pieces of a war she did not know she stepped into.
"Damian," she whispers.
I shake my head. "No. Listen."
I straighten, feeling something inside me lock into place, something sharp and cold and ready.
"They pushed their version of my life onto every screen, every headline, every boardroom. They built an empire on my silence. But what they buried is rising. And when the world reads the truth, they will not see a tribute."
I let the words settle.
"They will see an explosion."
For a moment, neither of us moves.
Then Aria reaches out, carefully, almost afraid, and places her hand over mine.
"I am here," she says quietly. "And I am listening."
Somehow, that one sentence steadies everything shaking inside me.
Tonight, I begin telling her what really happened.
But this time, I am not speaking into darkness.
I am speaking to the one person capable of carrying the truth out of the cave with me and into the light where it finally belongs.
Aria lifts her hand from mine slowly, her fingers trembling just a little, and whispers the question she has been afraid to ask since the moment she stepped into my house.
"Damian... who were the people your brother let in?"
I look at her.
And for the first time since the world buried me,
I speak the name no one was ever supposed to hear.
"The ones who made me disappear."