Karl was drying his hair when an unknown number flashed on his phone's screen. He ignored it at first but the thought that it might be his brother whom he hadn't heard from in weeks made him pick the call.
"Hello? Kan?"
A haggard voice came on the phone, the person sounded as the he were in a lot of pain. "Open the door stupid." He whispered.
Karl dropped the towel in his hands and sprinted to the door. "Why do you sound like that?" He questioned on the phone.
The moment he opened the door, he was met with a gruesome sight. His brother was lying on the floor, phone in hand, his body was covered in blood.
"Kan!" Karl screamed, dropping to his knees. He threw his phone out of his hand and gathered his brother into his arms. "Kan! Kan, can you hear me? Say something, bro!" his voice cracked as he pulled him close.
"Stupid… I can hear you," Kan said weakly. He knew he didn't have much time left. He might have survived if he'd gone to the hospital first but he had to ensure his brother was safe. With the remaining strength left in him, he forced himself to speak.
"Take this," He pointed a phone at him. "Everything you'll need… it's inside."
"Let's get you to the hospital first!" Karl tried to lift him up, but Kan resisted. " Whats wrong with you? You want to die here and leave me all alone?" Karl snapped, tears streaming down his face.
"Listen to me."
"No! I'm not doing what you say this time. We're going to the hospital."
"Listen to me, Karl!" Kan raised his voice, only to wince in pain. He was hurting bad and he knew that only had minutes left. Once he saw Karl settle down, he gave his final instructions.
"You must leave this place in the next one hour. I've saved a plastic surgeon's number on the phone. I also made arrangements for your change of identity, just follow what I wrote in the phone. You have to survive… for me, and for Clarke."
Karl wasn't shocked that his brother wanted him to change his identity and even his face. In his brother's line of work, a face was just a mask. But the name his brother mentioned sparked a flash of anger. He had risked his life for someone else again.
Who's this Clarke that's worth you dying for?" Karl asked him bitterly. He felt like a desperate urge to knock some sense into the man lying in his arms.
"You'll find out soon. Just leave. You have to look for the boy. And if you get a call with that number… answer it. It'll be important."
"What about me? How will I survive without you? You're my only family Kan!" Karl burst into tears, he knew there was nothing he could say change his brother's mind, he could see the life fading from his eyes .
Kan squeezed Karl's hand slightly. He smiled wearily at him.
"You will survive," he whispered, his voice barely audible. "Your heartless brother knows you will. Now go. There's an account on that phone…" Kan winced in pain and continued, "with enough money to last a lifetime."
Karl continued to weep as he stood up hesitantly, and retreated into his room. Minutes later, he came out and took one last look at his brother. Kan smiled, giving him a reassuring nod. Then Karl bolted out of the apartment.
As he fled, he perceived a faint scent of gasoline but his mind was clouded with grief to process it. He kept running, tears flowing down uncontrollably from his eyes. Then a sudden realization struck him. He came to a halt and turned back with a dreadful expression.
"Kan, NOOOOO!" Karl screamed, his voice swallowed by a deafening roar as the building exploded, the shockwave throwing him to the ground.
Karl stared horrifically at the explosion. What just happened?, he asked himself confusingly. The phone Kan gave him suddenly rang, and he answered in a daze.
"Mr Kan? A viive said. "The boy's at Edenvale. He was found there and didn't remember anything so one of our officers tried to check his information on the system, but I managed to stop him on time. And I don't know if you're aware, the Hawkins were killed in their apartment two weeks ago."
"Mr Kan? Are you there?"
The phone slipped from Karl's fingers. He was in disbelief.
"What the hell did you get into Kan?" he muttered to himself.
•••••
Clarke stared at the photo in the locket, a heavy sense of familiarity washed over him. The person in the photo was undeniably her, although she looked much younger, her features were very identical to his own.
It was unmistakable. That was his mother.
"How do you have this?" He demanded, his hands trembling. He had mastered the art of hiding his emotions, but this revelation shook him to the core.
Lana stood up and sat down beside the toy car, he picked it up, his voice barely a whisper.
"The one who tried to kill me… he dropped it. He told me she was the reason I had to die. That it all happened because of her.
Clarke felt a chill run down his spine. How could this be true? How could his mother be the reason Lana was supposed to die? How was she connected to the one who tried to kill him?
Overwhelmed, he dropped the locket and clutched his head. His pulse hammered against his skull and struggled to breathe. He desperately recited his mantra "Rage is the landlord, fear is a guest" over and over but he wouldn't calm down. Lana stood up from where he sat and moved closer to him.
"Are you okay?" He asked worryingly not daring to touch him.
"Why did you give it to me?" He asked back through his anxiety.
"The day I saw you," Lana whispered, "she was in the car."
"The day you saw me? What car?"
Clarke's mind raced back to that day. He had been out with Maddea, his nanny. They had came down the long drive specifically to avoid being seen when they came across the hospital. It had only been the two of them, so how did Lana see his mother?
"There was a car on the other side of the hospital," Lana explained . "I could see it from where I was sitting. The woman was in the car, watching you with a smile on her face."
It's normal for his mother to watch him play, but why from a distance? Why hadn't she mention it at all ? He knows he was supposed to stay hidden till he turned twenty but this was a secluded area.
Why would his mum feel the need to hide from him at that time?
"Are you okay?" Lana asked again worryingly. Beads of sweat had begun to form on Clarke's forehead and his face twisted in agony.
Ignoring him, Clarke staggered towards the door. Just as he reached , his vision blurred and he collapsed against the frame, sliding to the floor. As his eyes flickered shut, a memory that didn't feel like his own flashed through his mind.
His father's voice echoed in his head, "Maddea take Clarke on a walk down to the hospital tomorrow, make it feel like the perfect hiding place for him."
His mother's voice followed, "be discreet, we don't know how we're being watched."
His father's voice came up again, instructing a man. "Kan, prepare to purchase Edenvale under a false name. We don't have much time left with Clarke. That devil can strike at any moment."
Kan. The name hit him like a physical blow. The same name the therapist had mentioned during their session.
Clarke's temperature began to rise. His clothes were drenched in sweat. Lana knelt beside him, unsure of what to do. "Clarke?" He called out
In a haze, the therapist voice from their session echoed in his memory, now carrying a new weight.
"The man that murdered your parents… he killed my brother, Kan," the therapist had said. "He tried to kill his own brother, too. That brother is here, his name is Lana."
Clarke's eyes fluttered shut as the therapist voice drifted into space.