Chapter 10 “Traces Erased”
"The most dangerous family secrets are the ones deliberately erased from history."
That morning, gray clouds blanketed the skies over Jakarta. A light drizzle had been falling since dawn, wetting the streets and the rows of leaves along the campus grounds.
The air felt colder than usual, as if it, too, carried the gloomy atmosphere that had weighed on Tania Geisha Kusumawardhani's heart for the past few days.
She stood by her bedroom window, holding a cup of warm tea.
Her vacant gaze pierced the glass covered in beads of rain.
Nicholas's words from the night before still echoed clearly in her ears.
"If one day I really disappear... don't ever look for me."
The sentence kept spinning through her mind.
Instead of making her give up...
It only strengthened her resolve.
"I won't stop..." Tania whispered, tightening her grip slightly around the cup. Her gaze grew firmer. "If someone really is deliberately hiding all of this... I'll find them."
An hour later, Tania arrived on campus.
Raka and Keisha were already waiting in the cafeteria, which was still relatively quiet.
Raka waved as soon as he saw Tania approaching.
"Tan! Over here!" Raka called, standing from his chair and raising his hand high.
Tania walked over to them carrying a folder containing copies of the documents she had photocopied from the library.
"Morning," Tania said softly as she sat down. Her smile was faint, but her face still looked tired.
Keisha studied her friend's face for a few moments.
"Did you get any sleep last night?" Keisha asked gently, tilting her head slightly. Her eyes were filled with concern.
Tania exhaled softly.
"A little," Tania replied, rubbing her temple. "Every time I closed my eyes, all I could see was that archive."
Raka nodded slowly.
"Same," Raka answered. He leaned back in his chair and crossed his arms over his chest. "I couldn't stop thinking about it either."
Keisha pulled a small notebook from her bag.
"I wrote down everything we found last night," Keisha said, opening to a page filled with neat handwriting. "So we don't keep going in circles."
Raka smiled admiringly.
"You're pretty diligent."
Keisha snorted softly.
"Obviously," Keisha shot back, rolling her eyes. "What, are you the only one who's allowed to be useful?"
Raka chuckled.
"I am the most useful one."
"Yeah..." Keisha cut in quickly with a mischievous grin. "Useful for making a mess of everything."
Tania couldn't help letting out a soft laugh.
Seeing Tania smile, Raka and Keisha exchanged a glance.
At least...
For a moment, the burden on their friend's face had eased.
"Okay," Raka said, straightening in his seat. His tone grew more serious. "Let's put everything together again."
He picked up a pen and wrote several points on a blank sheet of paper.
"First fact..." Raka continued, tapping the tip of his pen against the table. "Nicholas really did live."
Tania nodded.
"Second fact..." Tania added quietly. "He died in 2003."
Keisha chimed in.
"Third fact..." Keisha said, pointing to her notebook. "He appears in the Wijaya Kusumawardhani family photos."
"But..." Raka murmured, furrowing his brow, "...his name almost never appears in any other documents."
That sentence left the three of them silent again.
It was true.
The more they searched...
The fewer traces of Nicholas they managed to find.
Someone who had attended various major family events should have left behind far more records.
"That's what's strange," Tania said softly, staring at the copies of the documents before her. "It's as if..."
She paused for a moment.
"...as if someone deliberately erased everything about him."
Keisha looked up.
"You mean erased?"
"It's possible."
Raka suddenly patted the table.
"Wait," Raka exclaimed, looking back and forth between them. "If someone really did deliberately erase Nicholas's traces..."
"...then that person knows who Nicholas really was," Tania finished quickly. Her eyes widened.
"And maybe..." Keisha murmured softly, "...that person also knows why Nicholas is still appearing now."
Silence fell again.
None of them dared to continue that thought.
Because the farther they went...
The more dangerous the secret they were touching became.
That afternoon, they returned to the archive room belonging to the Wijaya Kusumawardhani Foundation.
The old building behind the foundation's headquarters had stood there for decades.
Fortunately, as a family member, Tania still had access to it.
An archive clerk greeted them warmly.
"Good afternoon, Miss Tania," the clerk said politely, giving a slight bow. "How can I help you?"
Tania returned his smile.
"We'd like to see the records of family activities from the past few decades," Tania replied calmly.
The clerk appeared to think for a moment.
"Of course, Miss."
Not long afterward, they were led to the document storage room.
Metal shelves filled the spacious room.
Dozens of archive boxes were arranged by year.
"Go ahead," the clerk said, pointing to the middle shelves. "If you need anything, call me."
"Thank you, sir," Tania replied politely.
As soon as the clerk left, Raka opened the first box.
"Let's start with the family events," Raka said, putting on the archive gloves provided.
Keisha picked up a photo album whose cover had begun to fade.
"Hopefully there's a clue," Keisha murmured.
They turned the pages carefully, one after another.
Birthday photos.
Building inauguration photos.
Family dinner photos.
But...
Several pages looked strange.
"That's odd..." Keisha said, holding an album closer to her face. Her brows knitted together.
Tania hurried over.
"What is it?"
Keisha pointed to one of the photos.
"Look at this."
Tania stared at the photo.
Her breath caught immediately.
In a family photo that should have shown six people...
One figure's face had been torn away with incredible precision.
Not the entire photo.
Only that person's face.
Raka quickly picked up another photo.
His expression turned serious.
"This one too."
They opened the next page.
Then the page after that.
The more photos they found...
The more often they saw the same person's face deliberately removed from each image.
There were no names.
No captions.
Only torn edges that left small holes in the old photographs.
Tania swallowed softly.
Something inside her told her...
They had just uncovered the beginning of something far bigger than they had imagined.
Silence filled the Wijaya Kusumawardhani Foundation's archive room.
Tania was still holding the old photo album in both hands, which were beginning to feel cold.
Her gaze remained fixed on the small holes in several photographs.
Someone...
Had deliberately torn away the same face from every photo.
Not because of age.
Not because the paper had deteriorated.
But...
Because someone truly wanted to erase that person's existence.
"This isn't a coincidence," Raka said quietly, taking another album from the neighboring shelf. His expression grew serious. "Look at the tears."
Keisha moved closer until her shoulder nearly touched Raka's.
"What about them?" Keisha asked softly, studying the torn edges.
Raka pointed to the edge of the photograph with his fingertip.
"They're incredibly neat," Raka replied. "If it were from decay, the tears would be random."
He flipped through several more pages.
"But this..." Raka continued, raising the album slightly so Tania and Keisha could see clearly. "Almost all the tears are the same."
Tania examined them one by one.
It was true.
Every missing section was nearly identical in size.
As if someone had taken the time to cut them out carefully.
"Then..." Tania whispered, raising her face, "...that person really wanted to remove one particular figure."
Keisha hugged her arms.
The hair on the back of her neck rose again.
"If that really was Nicholas..." Keisha said hesitantly, "...why go this far?"
No one answered immediately.
Instead, Raka walked toward another shelf.
He pulled out an archive box labeled “Family Documentation 2001–2004.”
"Hopefully we missed something," Raka murmured, slowly opening the lid.
Inside were thin folders arranged by year.
Tania helped examine them one by one.
Event invitations.
Guest lists.
Social activity documentation.
Foundation reports.
But every time they hoped to find Nicholas's name...
The result was always the same.
Nothing.
"That's strange..." Tania said softly, rubbing her forehead, which was beginning to feel tired. "He was in the family event photos."
"Exactly," Keisha replied, opening the guest list for a charity event. "If he really attended, his name should have been recorded."
"But it isn't," Raka cut in quickly.
He placed several files on the table.
His gaze grew sharper.
"That's exactly the problem."
Tania and Keisha turned toward him at the same time.
Raka drew a long breath.
"The longer I look at this..." Raka said slowly, crossing his arms over his chest, "...the more convinced I am that these aren't records that disappeared with time."
"What do you mean?" Tania asked.
Raka looked from one friend to the other.
"Someone..." Raka answered in a deliberately quiet voice, "...deliberately erased every trace of Nicholas Winston."
His words made the room feel even colder.
Keisha reflexively swallowed.
"If that's true..." Keisha whispered. "Then that person knows who Nicholas is."
"They don't just know," Raka continued, shaking his head slowly. "They also have access to all the family archives."
Tania fell silent.
Her thoughts immediately drifted to her own family.
Who could have that much authority?
Her father?
A trusted family associate?
Or...
Was there someone else they didn't know about?
Without them realizing it...
From behind the slightly open door of the archive room...
A pair of eyes was watching them.
A man stood with both hands tucked into his trouser pockets.
He was handsome.
Neat.
But his gaze was cold.
Farel Mahendra.
He had just arrived at the headquarters to meet with one of the company's directors.
When he saw Tania enter the archive room with Raka and Keisha, curiosity made him follow them from a distance.
Farel narrowed his eyes.
"What are you really looking for, Tan?" Farel murmured, his jaw tightening.
He watched as Raka showed them several torn photographs.
Seeing their serious expressions...
Farel became even more certain.
They were investigating something.
Something that should have remained buried.
One of the office staff members passed behind him.
"Mr. Farel?" the staff member said politely, slightly startled to see him standing in the hallway. "The director is waiting for you."
Farel immediately looked away.
"All right," Farel replied curtly.
Before leaving...
He glanced once more toward the archive room.
His gaze stopped on Tania.
The look in his eyes was difficult to interpret.
Somewhere between jealousy...
Suspicion...
And anger.
Afternoon began to give way to evening.
Tania, Raka, and Keisha left the archive room with slow steps.
They had not found the answers they hoped for.
But...
They had found something far more troubling instead.
Someone had spent years erasing every trace of Nicholas.
"We'll search again tomorrow," Raka said firmly, closing the folder he was carrying. "There are still plenty of documents we haven't had time to examine."
Keisha nodded.
"I'll also try looking for old news through the digital archives," Keisha replied. "Maybe something slipped through."
Tania looked at her two friends gratefully.
"Thank you..." Tania said sincerely. Her smile was small but warm. "If I didn't have you two, I might have given up already."
Raka smiled broadly.
"You can't give up yet."
"Yeah," Keisha exclaimed, gently taking Tania's hand. "We started this together, so we'll finish it together too."
The three of them walked away from the archive building.
Without realizing it...
Somewhere else...
Someone stood inside a dimly lit room.
Their face was unclear.
Only their silhouette was illuminated by the firelight from an old iron furnace.
Several worn folders lay on the table.
Old photographs.
Letters.
And documents yellowed with age.
The person opened one of the folders.
Their gaze stopped on a name.
“Nicholas Winston.”
Without the slightest hesitation...
They fed the sheets of documents into the furnace.
Flames immediately licked at the old paper.
Slowly...
The writing on them blackened.
The photographs turned to ash.
The silhouette remained standing motionless.
Watching the flames grow higher.
Then a soft voice, almost a whisper, could be heard.
"This secret..." the mysterious figure murmured softly. "No one can ever know."
The final sheets were thrown into the blaze as well.
Within seconds...
All the old documents had burned away.
Someone had burned several old documents...
So Tania would never discover the truth.