I don’t have an explanation for that. Instead, I say, “You said yourself that it’s possible Liana’s vision was misinterpreted. Maybe she missed some things. Or … Or maybe Riley was in a different room or out of the house. You told me she only saw me yelling at my parents and running upstairs before coming back down and seeing them dead. You said you all put two and two together, but that you could have been wrong. Well, you’re wrong about this, too.”

The compassion on Kael’s face is almost enough to bring tears to my eyes. It’s clear that he’s afraid of me getting hurt, something he seems sure is going to happen. And that’s why he says, his voice still gentle but with a firmer edge, “I’m telling you that Riley isn’t—”

“I went to Smith.”

Four words, and Kael freezes.

“He projected me into my memories. Riley was there, Kael. He was there.”

His grip on my shoulder tightens before he releases me to run his hand through his hair. “That’s impossible.”

“Smith was with me—he saw him, too.”

“Smith has never seen Riley before. How would he know if he is or isn’t your brother?”

“I know,” I say, holding his dark gaze. In a whisper, I say, “I don’t know how my mum did it, and I don’t know what else she changed—or why. But Riley was telling the truth. He’s my brother. And for some reason, he was made to believe I was dead, while I was made to forget he ever existed.”

Kael is shaking his head. Like he can’t believe it. Like he won’t believe it. “I’m sorry, but it just seems too—”

I say the only thing I can think of that might help convince him. “Come with me and see for yourself.”

He stills. “You’re … You’re going back to Smith?”

“I have to. I have to know more.”

He thinks it over for a moment and then nods. “Fine. But if there’s any doubt in my mind after this, then you need to listen to me and let it go, okay?”

“Sure,” I tell him, confident that my forgotten memories will offer more than enough proof.

I wait while he pulls a jacket from his immaculately organized wardrobe, zips it up over his T-shirt, and tugs on a pair of sneakers before declaring he’s ready to go.