Chapter 8: The Night He Forgot
They left the warehouse just before dawn.
The sky over Georgia had begun turning pale gray.
Jasmine sat in the back seat.
Monique sat beside her.
Adrian drove.
Marcus followed in a separate car.
Rebecca had given Adrian one instruction before they left.
“Don't open the envelope until you're somewhere safe.””
Now the envelope sat on the passenger seat.
Adrian kept glancing at it.
Finally Jasmine spoke.
“You're scared of it.””
Adrian looked at her through the mirror.
“Yes.””
“Why?””
“Because I don't remember writing it.””
Monique lowered her eyes.
“I do.””
Adrian's hands tightened around the steering wheel.
“You've seen it?””
Monique nodded.
“Once.””
“Why didn't you tell me?””
“Because I thought you'd forgotten on purpose.””
He looked at her.
“What does that mean?””
Monique's voice trembled.
“You were hurt that night.””
Adrian slowed the car.
“What?””
“You don't remember?””
“No.””
Monique looked at Jasmine.
“I never told you because I thought it would destroy you.””
Jasmine whispered, “Tell him.””
Monique took a breath.
“The night Marcus disappeared, Adrian came to our house.””
Adrian frowned.
“I was in Tennessee.””
“No.””
“You told me I was.””
“You left Georgia later.””
Adrian stared at her.
“What happened?””
“You came to the house after midnight.””
“I don't remember.””
“You were bleeding.””
Jasmine sat forward.
“What happened to him?””
Monique continued.
“Darren had arranged for you to meet him at a hotel. He said he had documents for the property.””
Adrian's face tightened.
“I remember the hotel.””
“You were drugged.””
The car became silent.
“What?””
Monique's voice cracked.
“You were drugged.””
Adrian pulled to the side of the road.
He turned around.
“You knew this?””
“I found you outside the house.””
“You found me?””
“Yes.””
“What happened?””
“You were barely conscious.””
Jasmine stared at her mother.
“Why didn't you call an ambulance?””
“I did.””
Adrian's voice hardened.
“Then?””
“Darren came.””
Adrian's eyes narrowed.
“He came to the house?””
“Yes.””
“What did he do?””
“He told me you had been attacked because of Marcus.””
Adrian stared at her.
“And you believed him?””
“I was terrified.””
“Monique.””
“I know.””
She began crying.
“I know how it sounds.””
“It sounds like you let Darren control everything.””
“I did.””
Adrian closed his eyes.
A fragment of memory surfaced.
A hotel room.
A glass of water.
Darren standing near a desk.
A folder.
A man's voice saying, Just sign here.
Then darkness.
Adrian opened his eyes.
“I remember something.””
“What?””
“A second man.””
Monique looked up.
“Who?””
“I don't know.””
“He was standing behind Darren.””
Marcus's car pulled up behind them.
He got out and approached.
“What happened?””
Adrian looked at him.
“I remember the night you left.””
Marcus went still.
“What?””
“You didn't abandon Jasmine.””
“No.””
“You were trying to protect her.””
Marcus nodded.
“Yes.””
Adrian looked at Monique.
“And I was there.””
Marcus's expression changed.
“You don't remember?””
“No.””
Marcus lowered his voice.
“Darren hit you.””
Jasmine gasped.
“What?””
“He hit Adrian?””
Marcus nodded.
“I saw him.””
Adrian stared.
“You saw me?””
“Yes.””
“Then why didn't you help me?””
“I tried.””
Marcus's voice cracked.
“They had guns.””
Adrian looked away.
Marcus continued.
“I was going to take you with me.””
“Why?””
“Because I knew they were going to blame everything on you.””
Adrian's heart pounded.
“What happened?””
Marcus looked at Monique.
“She told me to leave.””
Monique closed her eyes.
“I thought it would save him.””
“You thought sending me away would save me?””
“Yes.””
“And you?””
“I stayed.””
Adrian shook his head.
“For fourteen years.””
“Yes.””
Jasmine whispered, “Mom…”
Monique looked at her.
“I thought if I cooperated, they'd leave you alone.””
“Did they?””
“No.””
The answer was almost inaudible.
Jasmine looked out the window.
Then she said something that made Monique cry harder.
“You should have trusted us.””
Adrian looked at her.
She wasn't speaking only to Monique.
She was speaking to him too.
Adrian picked up the envelope.
He opened it.
Inside was a handwritten letter.
He recognized his own handwriting.
He began reading.
*Monique,*
*If you're reading this, I couldn't remember what happened.*
*Darren says I agreed to protect Jasmine by taking responsibility for her trust.*
*But I don't believe him.*
Adrian stopped.
His hands shook.
He continued.
*If I forget, remember this: I never agreed to abandon her.*
His eyes filled.
The next line was underlined.
*I chose her.*
Jasmine leaned forward.
“What else?””
Adrian turned the page.
The handwriting became rougher.
*There is a man behind Darren. I saw him tonight. He is connected to my family.*
Adrian froze.
“Your family?”” Jasmine asked.
He read the name beneath it.
His face went blank.
Monique whispered, “What?””
Adrian handed her the letter.
She read it.
Her mouth opened.
“No.””
Marcus took the paper.
His eyes widened.
“What does that name mean?””
Adrian looked at him.
“It means I wasn't chosen by accident.””
“What?””
Adrian swallowed.
“My father knew Jasmine's grandfather.””
Marcus stared.
“How?””
“I don't know.””
Rebecca had said the trust was created because Jasmine's grandfather didn't trust Monique or Marcus.
But now another possibility surfaced.
Maybe the trust had never been about money.
Maybe it had been about control.
Adrian turned the letter over.
There was one final sentence.
*If something happens to me, ask why my father wanted Jasmine's trust.*
Jasmine looked at him.
“Your father?””
Adrian nodded.
“He died when I was nineteen.””
“Then how could he be involved?””
“I don't know.””
Marcus took out his phone.
“I do.””
Everyone looked at him.
He opened an old photograph.
It showed Jasmine's grandfather standing beside several businessmen.
One of them was Darren.
Another was Calvin Reed.
And at the edge of the photograph stood a much younger man.
Adrian.
Adrian stared.
“That isn't me.””
Marcus zoomed in.
“No.””
He pointed to the man beside Jasmine's grandfather.
“That's your father.””
Adrian's breath caught.
“But why is he in a photograph with them?””
Marcus looked at Rebecca.
Rebecca had followed them from the warehouse.
She now stood beside the car.
“Because your father helped create the trust.””
Adrian stared at her.
“You knew?””
“I suspected.””
“Why didn't you tell me?””
“Because I needed to be sure.””
Jasmine looked at Rebecca.
“Sure of what?””
Rebecca opened her bag.
She removed an old audio recorder.
“My mother left this for me.””
She pressed play.
Static filled the car.
Then an older man's voice came through.
Adrian recognized it immediately.
His father's voice.
*If anything happens to me, Jasmine must never be raised by Darren.*
A second voice replied.
*Then who?*
His father answered.
*Adrian.*
Adrian stopped breathing.
The recording continued.
*He doesn't know yet. But one day he'll understand why I chose him.*
The audio ended.
Nobody spoke.
Jasmine slowly turned toward Adrian.
“You were chosen before you even met me.””
Adrian stared through the windshield.
His entire life had just shifted beneath him.
Then his phone rang.
A number from the county courthouse.
He answered.
“Mr. Cole?””
“Yes.””
“This is Judge Harris's office. We need you to come in immediately.””
“Why?””
The woman's voice lowered.
“Because someone filed an emergency petition this morning.””
“Who?””
She hesitated.
“Your father.””
Adrian went cold.
“My father is dead.””
There was silence.
May you like
Then the woman said:
“That is exactly why you need to come.””