THE HEALER WHO COULD NOT SAVE HER BROTHER

THE MISSING HOURS

Aria read the note again.. Again.

The words didn't change. 

She wasn't supposed to remember. 

It was simple, direct and terrifying. 

The sentence itself didn't unsettle her. 

It was how it was written. The writer said "She" of "You". 

It was like they were talking about her, not to her. 

Aria felt like she was being watched from another room. 

A chill ran under her skin.

Nyra spoke up first. "Well that's unsettling." 

Rowan took the note from Arias hand. 

He studied the handwriting. "The same person, " he said. 

Aria nodded. "The same handwriting as the note in Liam's file." 

No one argued. 

Someone had followed this trail before them. 

Someone knew where to leave every clue.

"Daren, " Aria said quietly. 

Rowan looked up. "What about him?" 

Aria said, "He knew something. 

He wasn't afraid of the sickness. 

He was afraid of whoever sent him.”

Aria remembered the fear in Daren's eyes. 

It wasn't when he was sick or when the silver veins appeared. 

It was when she asked who had been waiting.

Rowan stood up. 

Aria knew that look. 

He had made a decision. 

"I'm sending search parties, " he said. 

Aria frowned. "You think they'll find him?" 

Rowan met her eyes. "No." 

Aria got frustrated. "Then why send them?"

Rowan said, "Because if someone else finds him…”

 

He didn't finish.

The guard left with Rowan's orders.

Silence fell over the office again. 

Aria looked at the investigation notebook on the desk. 

A date caught her eye. 

It seemed ordinary at first. 

Then she remembered. 

Her heartbeat slowed. "No..." 

Rowan noticed. "What?" 

Aria pointed to the page. "This date." 

He leaned closer. "What about it?" 

Aria couldn't answer away.

She closed her eyes. 

Pieces surfaced. 

Liam arriving at the Healers Hall. 

They shared lunch. 

He was laughing about something. 

Then... Nothing. 

The memory stopped. 

Her eyes opened slowly. "I..." she whispered. 

Nyra stepped closer. "What happened?" 

Aria swallowed. "I don't know."

People forgot conversations, faces and birthdays.. 

Not hours. 

Not entire afternoons.Her memories felt damaged. Not faded. Edited. Like someone had removed a section. Stitched the rest back together. 

Rowan watched her. "What are you remembering?" 

Aria looked at the date again. "I think..." She hesitated. "I think part of that day is missing."

The room became quiet. 

For the time since Liam's death Aria doubted her own memories. 

Nyra stared at her. "You think you've forgotten part of a day?" 

Aria took a breath. "I don't think I forgot it. I think it's... Gone." Rowan finally broke the silence. "Tell us everything you do remember." Aria closed her eyes. The memories came in fragments.

"Liam came to see me that morning. 

He looked tired. Like he hadn't slept." She paused.

 "We ate lunch together. 

He kept checking the door." 

Rowan leaned forward. "Checking for who?" 

Aria said, "I don't know." 

She remembered asking if something was wrong. 

He smiled. 

A sad smile. "He told me he was just tired."

Then something flashed. 

A doorway. 

Sunlight. 

Liam standing with his back to her. 

He wasn't alone. "Wait..." 

Both Rowan and Nyra looked at her. "What?" 

Aria said, "I saw someone."

 The memory sharpened. 

Not a face. 

Just a hand. 

A silver ring caught the light. 

Its design twisted around the finger like a serpent.

Aria opened her eyes. "The ring..." 

Rowan's expression changed. "What kind of ring?" he asked.

 "A silver serpent." 

Silence. 

Nyra looked between them. "You know that symbol." 

Rowan nodded. "I've seen it before." 

"Where?" he was asked. 

"In an investigation." 

"What investigation?" he was asked. 

"The kind that never became official."

Aria frowned. "What does that mean?" 

Rowan folded his arms. "It means there are people who don't exist in government records. They're not assassins. They're cleaners. They remove problems." 

Aria felt cold. "What kind of problems?" 

Rowan met her eyes. "Documents. Witnesses.. Sometimes... Memories."

The room fell silent. 

Aria looked down at the paper in her hand. 

The sentence meant something now. 

Someone hadn't just hidden the truth. 

Someone had tried to erase it. 

Nyra exhaled slowly. "So... Two weeks before Liam died, someone wearing that ring met him. My memory disappears. Daren appears years later with veins.. Anonymous notes start leading us toward the truth."

Nyra folded her arms. "That's not a coincidence." 

Aria agreed quietly. "It's a pattern."

She looked at Rowan. "If you know this group..."

 Rowan said, "I know stories.. Stories start somewhere." 

He picked up his coat. "There's one person who might recognize that ring." 

Arias' heartbeat quickened. "Who?" 

Rowan hesitated. "A man who disappeared years ago."

Nyra sighed. 

Rowan ignored her. "If he's still alive... He'll know what Liam became involved in." 

Aria looked at the note before folding it into her pocket.

Someone had stolen part of her past. 

Someone had decided what she was allowed to remember. 

That ended now. 

Whatever had been buried... 

Whatever Liam had died protecting... 

She was going to uncover it. 

Even if it meant facing the people who had spent years making sure the truth stayed forgotten.