Chapter 7: The Memory They Stole
The darkness lasted only a few seconds.
But in those few seconds, everything changed.
I heard footsteps outside the room.
Not one person.
Several.
Victoria pulled Lily close.
“Stay behind me.””
I had never seen Victoria Vale look like that.
Not like a wealthy woman protecting her reputation.
Like a mother protecting a child.
Eleanor grabbed my arm.
“There’s another way out.””
I looked at her.
“You knew about this?””
She shook her head.
“I knew Charles would never let us leave quietly.””
A loud crash came from the hallway.
The hidden room suddenly felt smaller.
Trapped.
Again.
Just like Eleanor had been.
“We need to move,” I whispered.
Eleanor pushed a bookshelf against the wall.
Behind it was a narrow passage.
A secret escape route.
Of course there was.
Charles Vale didn’t just hide people.
He built entire worlds where people could disappear.
We moved quickly.
I carried Lily because her small legs couldn’t keep up.
She wrapped her arms around my neck.
“Daddy?””
“Yes?””
“Is that bad man going to take me?””
I hated that she had to ask.
“No.””
I held her tighter.
“He will never take you.””
But even as I said it, I knew promises were easier to make than keep.
We moved through the narrow hallway behind the wall.
Dust filled the air.
Old pipes ran along the ceiling.
Every step echoed.
Then Eleanor stopped.
“What is it?”” I asked.
She pointed ahead.
A small room sat at the end of the passage.
Inside was a desk.
A computer.
And hundreds of files.
Victoria stared.
“Charles’ archive.””
I looked at her.
“You knew this existed?””
“No.””
Her voice was filled with disbelief.
“He kept everything.””
Eleanor walked toward the desk.
“He always believed information was power.””
I opened one of the folders.
My name appeared again.
But this time, there was something different.
A medical record.
A signature.
My signature.
Except I didn’t remember signing anything.
“What is this?””
Eleanor looked over.
Her face changed.
“That’s why you don’t remember.””
I stared at the page.
A procedure.
A treatment.
Something done after an accident.
My hands became cold.
“What happened to me?””
Eleanor sat down slowly.
“Three years ago, after Lily was born, Charles found out you were helping me expose him.””
I shook my head.
“I wasn’t helping you.””
“You were.””
She pointed to the computer.
“Look.””
She opened a file.
Emails appeared.
Messages between me and Eleanor.
Plans.
Meetings.
Evidence.
I read them.
Every word felt impossible.
Because the person in those messages sounded like me.
But I had no memory of writing any of it.
“He erased it,” Eleanor whispered.
“Erased what?””
“Your memories.””
The room went silent.
Victoria looked horrified.
“That’s not possible.””
Eleanor looked at her.
“You think Charles only destroys people financially?””
I stared at the documents.
The truth was becoming impossible to deny.
My entire life with Lily.
The first time I held her.
The first night she cried.
The moments I thought were mine.
What if pieces were missing?
“What happened after?””
Eleanor looked down.
“Charles caused an accident.””
My heart stopped.
“An accident?””
She nodded.
“He wanted you gone. But when he realized Lily was with you, he changed his plan.””
“Why?””
“Because he needed something.””
I looked at Lily.
The answer was obvious.
“No.””
Eleanor’s eyes filled with sadness.
“Lily was the last connection to my sister.””
A sound came from the passage behind us.
Someone was coming.
Victoria closed the computer.
“We have to go.””
But before we moved, the screen suddenly lit up.
A video started playing.
Charles appeared.
Recorded.
Not live.
He was sitting in the same office.
Looking directly at the camera.
“If you are watching this, then I failed to remove the evidence.””
My blood ran cold.
Charles continued.
“But there is one thing you still don’t understand.””
He leaned closer.
“Lily was never the target.””
Everyone froze.
Victoria whispered:
“Then who was?””
The video continued.
“The person who could destroy me was never the child.””
A pause.
Then Charles smiled.
“It was her father.””
I looked at the screen.
At myself.
At Lily.
The video ended with one final sentence.
“You were never supposed to remember who you really were.””
The room went silent.
And then the computer displayed one more file.
A name.
A name I had never seen before.
May you like
But somehow…
I knew it belonged to me.
