Chapter 4 The Town That Hides

The walk back from the clifftop was different this time.

Quieter.

Darker, despite the rising sun.

Joanne's thoughts spiraled like ocean whirlpools. Every step beside Kennedy felt heavier now. Lila. Jonah. Her children. Her loss. And Kennedy's quiet, steady presence beside her - as if he hadn't just turned her world upside down again.

They didn't talk as they walked, but Joanne noticed how he scanned the treetops, how he paused before corners, how his steps were silent - the movements of someone who had learned to live unseen. It made her wonder what else he had learned while he was gone... and what else he had lost.

Back at her cottage, Joanne made coffee while Kennedy paced slowly near the window.

"This place... it's watching us," he murmured.

Joanne raised an eyebrow as she handed him a mug. "You mean the town?"

He didn't take his eyes off the street. "I mean the people. Most of them are asleep, some of them are pretending. And a few..." He sipped the coffee. "A few were never meant to be awake at all."

Joanne frowned. "You're not making sense again."

Kennedy finally turned toward her. "Victoria is more than just a town. It's a vault."

"A vault?"

"For memories. Secrets. People."

Joanne took a long sip, grounding herself. "Start from the beginning."

Kennedy nodded. "Okay. Years ago, my father brought us here when things started going wrong. People were vanishing. Stories being erased - not just from headlines, but from minds. You'd remember someone existed one day, then wake up the next and they were gone. Not missing. Forgotten."

Joanne's stomach twisted.

"My father knew things. He worked for a group that tried to preserve truths - memories, timelines, names. The kind of truths people in power would rather erase."

She leaned against the counter. "Like... history?"

Kennedy nodded. "Exactly. But not just what happened - who happened. People like you. People like me."

Joanne laughed nervously. "You're saying I'm some kind of historic relic?"

He didn't smile. "I'm saying they knew you'd matter. That's why they tried to bury me. Because of you."

Joanne went quiet.

Kennedy continued, "When I met you, I didn't know any of this. I just knew that when I was near you, things felt right. Stable. Safe. But you weren't supposed to be part of any of it. You were just... good."

Her throat tightened.

"I left because they gave me two options - disappear quietly, or stay and let you be taken too. So I vanished. But I watched. I've been watching ever since."

Joanne's voice cracked. "You left me to face everything alone."

"I thought it would keep you safe."

"It didn't," she whispered. "I still suffered. I raised a daughter who asks every night why she only has one parent. I buried a son alone."

Kennedy set down his mug with trembling hands. "If I could take it all back..."

"But you can't." Her voice broke. "And I'm not here because I need you to fix the past, Kennedy. I'm here because I want the truth. All of it."

He nodded slowly. "Then you need to meet someone."

Joanne blinked. "Who?"

Kennedy hesitated. "My sister."

Joanne stiffened. "You never said you had a sister."

"That's because officially, she doesn't exist anymore."

Joanne's heart skipped. "Excuse me?"

"She was the first one they tried to erase. Her name was Victoria."

Joanne froze.

Kennedy's gaze sharpened. "Yes. The town is named after her. Because she became the town. Or rather, the memory of her did."

The air grew still.

"Her mind was too powerful. Too connected to the past. When they tried to wipe her... she fought back. Hard. Something went wrong, and the town became... fused with her essence. Her memory is in its bones. And she protects what's left."

Joanne's voice was a whisper. "That's what you meant by 'Kennedy-Victoria' being a protection mechanism."

He nodded. "Victoria isn't just a person or a place. She's both. A living memory. A failsafe. She protects people like you. Like Lila."

Joanne suddenly felt dizzy. "You're saying... my daughter is part of this?"

"She's already being watched," Kennedy said quietly. "That's why I asked you to come alone to the clifftop. Eyes are everywhere now."

Joanne stared at him, the gravity of everything sinking into her bones. "Why didn't you tell me sooner?"

"Because the more you know, the more danger you're in. But you're already in it now. And there's no walking away."

Outside, the wind shifted.

Kennedy stood suddenly, moving to the door. "We need to go. Now."

Joanne stood too, panic rising. "What's happening?"

He looked at her with something raw and frightened in his eyes. "They know you're here. And they know about Lila."

Joanne's blood ran cold. "Where is she?"

Kennedy opened the door. "Safe. For now. But we have to move fast."

Joanne grabbed her coat, heart pounding. "Where are we going?"

"To see Victoria," Kennedy said.

Joanne paused in the doorway. "I thought she was... gone."

Kennedy looked back at her.

"She is not, not entirely".