“Reborn With the Future in My Hands”

Chapter 6: The Secret Richard Hid

Ethan couldn't take his eyes off his father.

“Amelia Rose.”

Richard had reacted to that name as if Ethan had mentioned a ghost.

“Dad,” Ethan said quietly, “what does Amelia have to do with the warehouse fire?”

Richard looked toward the window.

For several seconds, he said nothing.

Then he walked to the curtains and closed them.

“Before I answer that, tell me something.”

“What?”

“How do you know Amelia?”

Ethan hesitated.

“I met her at university.”

Richard turned around sharply.

“Where?”

“Near the parking area.”

“What happened?”

“Two men tried to force her into a car. I stopped them.”

Richard's expression changed.

“You stopped them?”

“Yes.”

“Why?”

“She needed help.”

Richard stared at him.

“You don't understand.”

“Then explain it to me.”

Richard rubbed his forehead.

“Those men weren't random criminals.”

Ethan's attention sharpened.

“How do you know?”

“Because I've seen that method before.”

“Where?”

Richard didn't answer immediately.

Then he said, “In 1996.”

Ethan's stomach tightened.

“Were those men connected to Blackridge?”

“I don't know.”

“You're lying again.”

Richard looked at him.

Ethan had never spoken to his father like that before.

But this wasn't the same Ethan Richard had known.

He had already died once.

He wasn't going to let fear control him again.

“I need the truth,” Ethan said. “Whatever happened in 1996, whatever happened to Elena, and whatever connection Amelia has to it—I need to know.”

Richard slowly sat down.

“When the warehouse burned, Elena was supposed to die.”

“But she escaped.”

“Yes.”

“With a child.”

“Yes.”

“Amelia?”

Richard closed his eyes.

“I don't know.”

Ethan frowned.

“You don't know?”

“I knew the child was connected to the Rose family. That's all.”

“Then why did you react when I mentioned Amelia?”

Richard remained silent.

That silence was enough.

Ethan stepped back.

“You do know.”

Richard finally looked at him.

“I know that Amelia's family has been hiding something for twenty years.”

“What?”

“Her birth records.”

Ethan's eyes narrowed.

“What about them?”

“Some records were changed.”

“Why?”

“I don't know.”

“You expect me to believe that?”

“No.”

Richard stood.

“I expect you to understand that there are things even I don't know.”

Ethan wanted to argue.

Then his phone vibrated.

[Future System]

[New information detected.]

[Amelia Rose's personal records will be altered within 48 hours.]

Ethan's expression changed.

“What?”

Richard noticed.

“What happened?”

Ethan ignored him.

Another System message appeared.

[Recommended Action: Prevent the alteration.]

[Reward: Unknown.]

[Warning: Direct interference may expose your connection to the future.]

Ethan's heart raced.

Someone was going to alter Amelia's records.

That meant someone was still trying to hide the truth.

And they were moving faster than before.

His phone vibrated again.

This time, it wasn't the System.

It was Amelia.

**Amelia: Can I talk to you? It's important.**

Ethan immediately replied.

**Ethan: Where are you?**

Her response came almost instantly.

**Amelia: Library. Second floor.**

Ethan grabbed his jacket.

Richard stopped him.

“Where are you going?”

“To help someone.”

Richard's face tightened.

“Ethan, stay away from the Rose family.”

Ethan paused at the door.

“Why?”

Richard looked at him.

“Because people who get close to them don't always get a second chance.”

Ethan slowly turned.

The words struck him harder than they should have.

A second chance.

His father couldn't possibly know.

Could he?

Before Ethan could ask, Richard said something that stopped him completely.

“I've seen what happens when people try to change their fate.”

Ethan stared at him.

“What did you say?”

Richard looked away.

“Nothing.”

But Ethan knew.

That wasn't nothing.

He left the house.

---

The university library was unusually quiet.

Ethan climbed the stairs to the second floor.

He found Amelia sitting alone at a table near the window.

She looked nervous.

When she saw him, she immediately stood.

“You came.”

“You said it was important.”

Amelia nodded.

Then she placed a small envelope on the table.

“I found this in my family's old storage room.”

Ethan looked at the envelope.

His name was written on it.

**ETHAN CARTER**

His pulse jumped.

“When did you find this?”

“This morning.”

“Who wrote it?”

“I don't know.”

Ethan carefully opened the envelope.

Inside was a single photograph.

His breathing stopped.

It was the same warehouse.

But this photograph had been taken from a different angle.

Richard was there.

Marcus Rose was there.

David Hayes was there.

And Elena Vale stood near the rear entrance.

Holding a child.

Ethan stared at the photograph.

Then he noticed something.

The child wasn't looking at Elena.

The child was looking directly at Richard.

And written beneath the photograph were seven words:

**Richard Carter knows who the child belongs to.**

Ethan slowly looked at Amelia.

“Where did you get this?”

“I told you. My family's storage room.”

“Does anyone else know you have it?”

Amelia shook her head.

“I don't think so.”

Ethan turned the photograph over.

A date was written on the back.

October 14, 1996.

And beneath it—

**B-17 — 11:42 PM**

Ethan's eyes narrowed.

The same warehouse.

The same night.

But something didn't make sense.

The warehouse fire was officially recorded as starting at 11:10 PM.

So how had this photograph been taken at 11:42?

Unless—

The fire hadn't started when everyone thought it had.

Ethan's phone suddenly vibrated.

[Future System]

[Critical Timeline Contradiction Detected.]

[Official history is false.]

Ethan stared at the message.

Then another line appeared.

[Someone survived the warehouse fire.]

A cold chill ran down his spine.

He looked at Amelia.

“Amelia…”

“What?”

Ethan slowly raised the photograph.

“There was someone else in that warehouse that night.”

Amelia's face went pale.

“Who?”

Before Ethan could answer, the library lights suddenly went out.

A loud crash came from the entrance.

Someone screamed.

Ethan immediately grabbed Amelia's hand.

“Stay behind me.”

Footsteps echoed through the darkness.

Slow.

Calm.

Coming toward them.

Then a man's voice came from the other side of the room.

“Ethan Carter.”

Ethan froze.

The voice continued.

“You were supposed to stay away from the past.”

A second later, the emergency lights came on.

The man was gone.

But on the table where the photograph had been—

there was now a fresh photograph.

Ethan picked it up.

His blood ran cold.

It showed him and Amelia sitting in the library.

The photograph had been taken only moments earlier.

On the back, four words were written:

**I remember too, Ethan.**