⸻ ❛𝐖𝐑𝐀𝐏 𝐘𝐎𝐔𝐑 𝐀𝐑𝐌𝐒 𝐀𝐑𝐎𝐔𝐍𝐃 𝐌𝐄 𝐖𝐇𝐈𝐋𝐄 𝐈 𝐃𝐑𝐎𝐖𝐍 𝐈𝐍𝐓𝐎 𝐓𝐇𝐈𝐒 𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐎𝐒!❜
Rory Hargrove is obsessed to uncover the truth behind Barbara Holland's disappearance, while facing her brother's enemy and buried secrets from...
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3 MONTHS LATER
SHE PULLED THE LAST PIECE OF CLOHING OFF THE HANGER IN THE CLOSET, laid it across her lap, folded it, and placed it on top of the pile inside a cardboard box. She'd spent the whole day helping the Byers move.
"Is there anything else to pack in this one?" she asked, pointing at the box. Then she stuck a hair tie between her lips to redo her ponytail as she turned to face the woman beside her, who was doing the same.
Joyce Byers, sitting cross-legged on the carpet of her bedroom, picked up the beige uniform with a badge glinting on the chest and placed it in her lap, a faint, melancholic smile on her face.
Seeing that uniform without its owner inside it felt strange. It symbolized—and reminded her—that the person who used to wear it was truly gone. Maybe even physically disintegrated. She let out a long sigh as the ache in her chest swelled like a bubble.
"I don't think we can fit anything else in this box," she said, "but we can probably squeeze this one in."
Since that terrible Fourth of July, Aurora had stayed close to her. She knew how close Joyce and Hopper had been, so it made sense that she was hurting—and Rory wanted to help her get through it. Just last year she'd lost Bob, and now Hopper. It wasn't fair—not after everything she'd done to keep her youngest son alive. Joyce radiated a maternal warmth you could feel from a mile away, and it was obvious she'd done a wonderful job raising her kids.
Rory felt safe around her—cared for, protected. And beyond that, Joyce held the key to memories and information that might unlock Rory's past.
Not a single day had gone by since that Fourth of July when Rory didn't think about it. She still remembered the shock she felt when Joyce told her what Hopper had said that night—that Rory had a birthmark just like his daughter Sara, in the exact same spot: on her leg, just above the knee.
At first, Rory hadn't understood what that meant—or why it was such a big deal. But then, in a sudden flash of realization, something clicked.
She'd always been aware of that birthmark. Her adoptive mother, Theresa Hargrove, had named her Aurora—meaning "dawn"—in honor of the little star-shaped mark on her leg. But she'd never imagined it might mean something more.
A coincidence like that would be incredibly rare.
But Hopper's daughter had died. It didn't make sense. And yet, what Hopper had noticed triggered something in Joyce—a need to share it with Rory, especially since she knew the girl had grown up in a lab, with no known biological parents. Joyce's confession planted a seed in Rory's mind—a powerful curiosity. And once Rory got an idea in her head, there was no shaking it.
