Chapter 11 · Loopbound - Chapter 11: The Memory She Buried

Callum's hand was still on the stolen log page when Vera grabbed his wrist.

"Don't spiral," she said. "Not yet."

He looked up. His vision had gone tight at the edges, the kind of tunnel focus he used to get in the field when comms went dead. Subject 08. His birth date. Two years before Mom disappeared. Which meant—

"It means you were part of it from the start," Vera said. Her voice was flat, careful. "Or she was. I don't know which."

Callum pulled his hand back. The paper crinkled under his thumb. "She brought me here. As a baby."

"Maybe." Vera's eyes flicked to the door, then back. "Or Greer took you both. I can't—" She stopped. Pressed two fingers against her temple like she was trying to hold something in. "There's a gap. In what I remember. It's not just the wipe. I did something to myself after."

"What kind of something?"

"The kind you do when you can't live with what you saw." She let out a breath. "I sealed it. On purpose. I knew if I kept the memory I'd never stop trying to fix it, and I'd already tried. I failed.