The Heir Who Returned

Chapter 1

I slowly opened my eyes, and I was in an unfamiliar room. I tried to sit up, but a sharp pain hit my head.

"Ahhhhh," I cried softly. I tried remembering what happened, but the more I tried, the more the pain worsened.

Knock knock. There was a knock on the door. I panicked, but a little girl entered.

"Uh, you're awake," she said, looking at me. I just stared at her with shock.

"Mum, he's awake!" she shouted. Then a boy and a woman rushed into the room.

"Thank goodness you're awake," she said with a sigh of relief.

"Ma'am, please, how did I get here, and where am I?" I asked, still holding my head from the pain.

"Don't you remember? You ran towards me and asked for help before you passed out."

"I—I can't remember," I stammered.

The woman studied me for a moment, her eyes soft but searching, as though she were trying to piece together a puzzle from my face alone.

"It's alright," she said gently, lowering herself onto the edge of the bed. "You've had quite a fall. Give it time, it'll come back to you." She said smiling

"What's your name?" the little girl asked, climbing onto a stool beside the bed, her eyes wide with curiosity.

"Ethan," I said slowly, testing the name on my tongue like it belonged to a stranger. "My name is Ethan."

"Ethan," the woman repeated, as if trying it out too. "Well, Ethan, I'm sorry we're meeting under such strange circumstances. My name is Sarah but you can call me Mrs Sarah, She gestured to the little girl. "This is my daughter, Lily." Then she turned to the boy standing quietly by the door, arms crossed, watching me with a guarded expression. "And that's my son, Caleb."

Caleb gave a small nod, nothing more. He just stood 2 feet away and stared at me.

"Thank you," I managed to say, my voice still rough. "For helping me. I don't know what I would have done if—"

"Don't mention it," Mrs Sarah cut in with a wave of her hand. "Anyone would have done the same." She stood, smoothing her worn wrapper. "You must be hungry. Come, let's get you some food so you can have strength.

I tried to sit up, and this time the pain was bearable enough that I could swing my legs over the side of the bed. My body ached all over but I forced myself upright, grateful when Lily hurried to my side and looped my arm over her small shoulders for support, giggling when I nearly toppled into her.

"You're heavy for someone so skinny," she teased, and despite everything, I found myself managing a weak smile.

The house was small, humble in a way that spoke of a family who worked hard for very little. The walls were bare except for a single faded photograph pinned above the doorway, a man in a stiff collar smiling beside a much younger Mrs Sarah. I didn't ask. Something told me I shouldn't.

We settled around a low wooden table, and Mrs Sarah brought out a pot of something that smelled like heaven after whatever emptiness had been sitting in my stomach. Rice, stewed with tomatoes and a little meat, more meat than I suspected they usually allowed themselves, judging by the way Caleb's eyes flicked toward the pot and then quickly away, like he'd trained himself not to want too much.

"Eat," Mrs Sarah urged, spooning a generous portion onto my plate before her own children. "You need your strength."

"Thank you," I said weakly, through my grumbling stomach. She looked at me and smiled.

Lily filled the silence with chatter, telling me about her chickens, about the mango tree behind the house that Caleb always climbed too high, about a cat that visited sometimes but never let anyone touch it. Caleb said little, though I caught him watching me more than once, his expression unreadable.

"So you really don't remember anything?" Caleb finally spoke, his voice flat, testing. "Not your family? Not where you're from?"

I set down my spoon, trying again to reach into the darkness of my mind, searching for anything — I remember but I can't let them know, I don't want to go back to that risky house. I just couldn't remember what happened last night before I passed out. I thought

"No," I admitted quietly, shaking off my thoughts.

The table went quiet. Mrs Sarah reached over and patted my hand. "Well then, until it comes back, you'll stay here with us. There's no other option, is there? A boy alone with no memory and nowhere to go." She said it so simply, as though taking in a stranger was the most natural thing in the world.

Lily beamed like this was the best news she'd heard all week. Caleb said nothing, but he didn't argue either, which I decided to take as a small victory.

For the first time in 2 days, I could finally relax, something in my chest loosened. Maybe because I escaped the men that tried to kill me and found myself here, at this table, with this food and these people who owed me nothing, I felt something close to safety.

That feeling lasted exactly as long as it took for the pounding to start.

It came suddenly, violent, rattling the thin wooden door on its hinges. Mrs Sarah froze mid-motion, her spoon suspended in the air. Lily's chatter died instantly. Even Caleb went pale.

"You this foolish widow!" a man's voice roared from outside, thick with menace. "Come outside now and pay up, or I'll break your door and drag you out without mercy!"

Mrs Sarah's face was drained of color, and in that instant, I understood — whatever peace I'd just felt, was just temporary.