Unraveled

Chapter 15

Caleb sat at his desk, staring at the blinking cursor in the search bar. His hands trembled as they hovered over the keyboard, his heart pounding. He knew he had to find the truth. With everything he'd uncovered so far, ignoring the gaps in his memory—the gnawing feeling that something crucial had been kept from him—was impossible.

He took a deep breath and typed his name: Caleb Montgomery.

The search results appeared almost instantly, mostly generic hits—social media profiles, scattered mentions in public records, a few articles about his parents' charitable work. He scrolled down, then froze on a headline that made his stomach clench: Tragic Accident Claims Lives of Prominent Couple, Leaves One Orphaned Child.

He clicked the link, his breath catching.

The article was from a local newspaper, dated nearly twenty years ago. The details sent a chill through him:

"Mark and Olivia Montgomery, known for their philanthropy and leadership of Montgomery Enterprises, died in a car accident late Tuesday night. The couple was returning from a charity event when their vehicle collided with another car on a rural road. The Montgomerys were killed instantly, as were the couple in the other vehicle. Authorities believe heavy rain and slick roads contributed to the crash."

Caleb's chest tightened. He'd known the basics—that his parents had died in an accident—but seeing the cold facts laid out like this brought a fresh wave of grief and confusion. He'd been just eight years old, spending the summer with Isabelle's family, blissfully unaware of the tragedy unfolding miles away.

He continued reading, feeling a knot in his stomach as the article mentioned another victim—a child from the other vehicle who survived and was taken into custody by social services. Their identity was being kept private due to the sensitive nature of the situation.

Caleb's mind raced. Who was this child? He'd never heard about another family being involved, let alone an orphaned survivor. The article didn't offer further details—no names, no follow-up on what happened afterward.

He leaned back, his hands trembling. Could it have been Lila? The thought gnawed at him, explaining her strange connection to him, her obsession. She'd vanished months before he had, after a psych hold, but what if there was something deeper driving her actions?

His pulse quickened. If Lila was the child who survived, if she somehow blamed him or his family for what happened... it would explain her rage, her fixation. It would explain why she had come back into his life with such force, as if she'd been waiting. But how had she stayed hidden all this time? And how did Aubrey fit in?

Doubt began to fester. Could Lila truly be that orphaned child, harboring a grudge since she was a little girl? He thought about her appearances in his dreams, tinged with a mix of desperation and anger. It made too much sense.

But even as he considered it, uncertainty crept in. Was he reaching for answers that weren't there?

His mind churned, replaying fragmented memories of Lila—the fights, her unraveling. Perhaps she wasn't just an ex with unaddressed issues. Maybe she was something far more dangerous, someone driven by a grudge years in the making.

A chill ran down his spine as he lingered on the mention of the orphaned child. He had to know. He needed to confirm if Lila was that child—or if there was something even darker at play.

He returned to the keyboard, typing furiously as he searched for more articles, more clues about the accident, about the other family. But each article was maddeningly vague. The names of the other victims had been redacted, their child's identity shielded due to their age at the time. The trail ran cold.