Chapter 1
Ava Sinclair had never liked stories about death.
It wasn't because she was afraid of death itself. As a journalist, she had spent years reporting tragedies, accidents, and crimes. She had interviewed grieving families, attended funerals, and written articles about people whose lives ended far too soon.
But there was something different about seeing the name of someone you once knew.
Someone you had laughed with.
Someone you had grown up with.
Someone you thought would always be around.
That morning, Ava was sitting behind her desk in the newsroom, trying to finish an article that was already two days behind schedule. The office was as busy as ever. Phones rang constantly, reporters hurried from one desk to another, and editors barked instructions at anyone who happened to be nearby.
Normally, the noise helped her concentrate.
Today, it didn't.
Her attention was pulled away when a breaking news report appeared on the television mounted on the wall.
At first, she paid little attention.
Then she heard a familiar name.
Lucas Hart.
Her fingers stopped moving across the keyboard.
Slowly, she looked up.
The television screen displayed a recent photograph of Lucas. He looked older than she remembered, but his confident smile was still the same.
The news anchor spoke calmly.
"Businessman and technology entrepreneur Lucas Hart was found dead in his penthouse apartment earlier this morning. Authorities have stated that initial investigations suggest suicide, although a full inquiry is still underway."
Ava frowned.
She kept staring at the screen long after the report ended.
Suicide.
The word felt strange.
She and Lucas had not spoken in years, but she remembered the boy he used to be.
Lucas was many things.
Competitive.
Stubborn.
Sometimes arrogant.
But he had always been full of plans.
He was the type of person who believed he could accomplish anything if he worked hard enough.
The idea that he had simply given up on life felt wrong.
"Ava?"
She turned her head.
Mia was standing beside her desk with a file in her hand.
"You look like you've seen a ghost."
Ava managed a small smile.
"I knew him."
"The guy on the news?"
"Yeah."
Mia glanced at the television.
"I'm sorry."
Ava nodded.
"Thanks."
Mia hesitated.
"You okay?"
"I'm fine."
It was a lie.
Not because she was heartbroken.
The truth was that she and Lucas had not been close for a long time.
What bothered her was something else.
The news had brought back memories she hadn't thought about in years.
Memories of Hollow Creek.
The small town she had left behind.
The place she rarely spoke about.
The place she never visited anymore.
For reasons she could never explain, thinking about Hollow Creek always left her uneasy.
It felt like there was something important she had forgotten.
Something just beyond her reach.
Something she could never quite remember.
Her phone vibrated on the desk.
She barely looked at it.
Most likely another work message.
The phone vibrated again.
Then again.
Sighing, she picked it up.
The message came from an unknown number.
There was only one sentence.
Do you remember Hollow Creek?
Ava's eyes narrowed.
The question immediately caught her attention.
Very few people knew she came from Hollow Creek.
She typed a quick reply.
Who is this?
The response arrived almost instantly.
I thought you would remember.
Ava stared at the words.
Something about them made her uncomfortable.
She couldn't explain why.
What do you want? she typed.
A few seconds passed.
Then another message appeared.
It's sad how easily people forget.
Ava felt a small knot form in her stomach.
She read the message again.
Still, it made no sense.
Who was this person?
And what exactly were they talking about?
Before she could send another reply, a new message appeared.
Tell me something.
Do you ever think about that summer?
Ava's fingers froze above the screen.
That summer.
Not a summer.
That summer.
The wording felt deliberate.
As though the sender expected her to know exactly what they meant.
She swallowed.
No matter how hard she tried, she could not remember anything unusual about her final summer in Hollow Creek.
She remembered spending time with friends.
Swimming in the lake.
Sneaking out of her house.
Laughing around campfires.
Normal teenage memories.
Nothing more.
Yet for some reason, the message unsettled her.
Who are you? she typed again.
This time there was no immediate reply.
Several minutes passed.
Eventually Ava placed the phone aside and tried returning to work.
It was impossible.
Her mind kept drifting back to the messages.
By lunchtime she gave up completely.
After grabbing a sandwich from a nearby café, she returned to her desk and opened social media.
Lucas's death was everywhere.
Thousands of people were already sharing tributes.
Former classmates.
Business associates.
Friends.
Everyone seemed shocked.
As she scrolled through the comments, she noticed something strange.
Several people were questioning the suicide ruling.
Lucas had apparently attended a business meeting the previous evening.
According to those who saw him, he had seemed perfectly normal.
One comment in particular caught her attention.
He told us he was meeting someone from his hometown.
Someone he hadn't seen in years.
Ava stared at the comment.
Her hometown.
Hollow Creek.
A chill ran through her.
Before she could think about it further, her phone vibrated again.
The same unknown number.
She immediately opened the message.
Still looking for answers?
Her heartbeat quickened.
Who are you?
The reply came a few seconds later.
Someone you forgot.
Ava frowned.
The conversation was beginning to feel less like a prank and more like something personal.
She didn't like it.
At all.
The rest of the afternoon passed slowly.
By the time she left work, dark clouds had gathered over the city.
Rain began falling before she reached her apartment.
She hurried inside and locked the door behind her.
Normally, she would make dinner, watch television, and go to bed.
Tonight, she couldn't stop thinking about the messages.
Or Lucas.
Or Hollow Creek.
Without fully understanding why, she walked to the spare room at the end of the hallway.
The room contained boxes she hadn't opened in years.
Old clothes.
Schoolbooks.
Photographs.
Memories she had packed away after leaving home.
She switched on the light and stared at the boxes.
Then she pulled one onto the floor and opened it.
Dust covered the contents.
Ava began sorting through them.
Yearbooks.
Birthday cards.
Old notebooks.
Eventually she found what she was looking for.
A photo album.
She sat cross-legged on the floor and opened it.
The first few pages contained family photographs.
The next pages showed school events.
Then came the pictures from Hollow Creek.
For a while, Ava forgot about everything else.
She smiled as she looked through them.
There was Lucas.
There was Sophie.
Ethan.
Caleb.
And herself.
Photographs from the lake.
Photographs from camping trips.
Photographs from school events.
Normal memories.
Then something caught her attention.
Ava frowned.
She picked up one photograph and looked at it more closely.
It showed five teenagers standing beside the lake.
Lucas.
Sophie.
Ethan.
Caleb.
Herself.
At first glance, nothing seemed unusual.
Then she noticed the gap.
There was too much space between her and Lucas.
As though someone else had once been standing there.
She picked up another photograph.
The same thing.
Another gap.
She checked a third picture.
And a fourth.
And a fifth.
Every single photograph looked wrong.
It was subtle.
Easy to miss.
But once she noticed it, she couldn't ignore it.
It looked as though someone had been removed from every picture.
Ava laughed nervously.
"That's ridiculous."
Yet the feeling wouldn't leave.
Her phone vibrated.
She jumped.
For a moment, she simply stared at it.
Then she picked it up.
A new message waited on the screen.
Now do you remember?
Ava's mouth went dry.
Another notification appeared immediately after.
An image attachment.
With trembling fingers, she opened it.
The photograph filled her screen.
It had clearly been taken years ago.
The picture showed a group of teenagers standing beside the lake in Hollow Creek.
Ava recognized herself instantly.
She recognized Lucas.
Sophie.
Ethan.
Caleb.
Then she saw the sixth person.
A boy standing between her and Lucas.
One arm resting casually across Lucas's shoulder.
Smiling directly at the camera.
Ava stopped breathing.
Because she recognized his face.
She knew she did.
Deep down, she knew she had seen him before.
Yet no matter how hard she tried, she could not remember his name.
Her phone vibrated one final time.
A new message appeared beneath the photograph.
You remembered everyone else.
Why did you forget me?