Page 163 of Seeking Shadows

It couldn’t be.

The woman in the tunnel. The one I saw years ago—the only time I allowed myself to doubt my own sanity.

My throat went dry.

"Mia..."

"Zane, this is my mother."

I stared at her. She stared back at me.

A slow smile spread across her face.

"I remember you."

And at that moment, I knew we were completely fucked.

The woman in frontof me looked like she’d been through hell and back. Her hair, once dark as midnight, had faded to a white so pale it almost blended into the walls around her. Time had shredded her, left its mark on every inch of her face.

Her eyes were hollow, haunted, as if the years had robbed her of anything worth holding onto. But there was something there, a flicker of something that didn’t quite belong in a face that had seen so much suffering—a strange, fragile relief.

I swallowed hard, my chest tightening as I looked at her, unable to wrap my mind around the fact that she was even standing in front of me. My throat felt thick, and the words slipped out before I could stop them.

“You’re alive,” I said, the disbelief thick in my voice.

She tilted her head, the corners of her cracked lips pulling up in a faint, almost wistful smile.

“I apologize for the scare that day,” a soft voice interrupted, pulling me from the grip of shock. “I just needed to make sure my son was still alive. He was. He was fine.”

Seth.

She had run, risked everything, just to make sure Seth was safe.

The woman—Katie—looked at me with eyes full of something like regret, her gaze lingering on me with a quiet intensity, as though she was trying to memorize every detail of my face, as though she could somehow make up for lost time.

"You've grown into a beautiful young man," she said softly, her voice like brittle paper. "I’m happy for you."

I opened my mouth to respond, but before I could find the right words, Mia’s voice broke through, her tone a strange mix of curiosity and something else—maybe jealousy, maybe unease.

“Please tell me you and Katie didn’t have a relationship in the past.”

I blinked, the question catching me off guard. For a second, I just stared at Mia, my brain trying to make sense of what she was asking.

"No," I said firmly, my voice steady despite the confusion swirling in my chest. "We haven't had a relationship in the past. Not in the way you're thinking."

Mia didn’t seem completely convinced, but she didn't press the matter. Her attention shifted back to Katie, her expression unreadable now, her eyes searching for something she couldn’t quite name.

“How do you know Zane?” Mia’s voice was sharp now, guarded, like she was already bracing herself for the answer.

Katie hesitated, her eyes flicking to me, silently asking for permission to speak. I nodded, the tension in my chest tightening.

"The day you helped me escape," Katie explained, her eyes softening as she turned back to Mia. "Zane was there when I needed to hide."

I watched as Mia froze, her entire body going still. Her fingers curled into tight fists, and I could see the flicker of recognition in her eyes—the same way she reacted when something hit too close to the bone, when it cut too deep.

"I… helped you escape?" Her voice was barely a whisper, barely a breath, as if the very thought of it was too much to bear.

Katie nodded, regret swimming in her gaze. "And I remember what happened to you next."

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