Chapter 4: The First Lie
The call ended before I could answer.
I stood frozen in the middle of the apartment, staring at the dark screen of my phone.
Daniel’s voice still echoed in my head.
The man you think came to save you…
He’s the reason you lost your memories in the first place.
I looked at Adrian.
For the first time since I met him, I didn’t know which version of the truth I was standing in.
The desperate man outside the hotel.
The stranger who knew things about me no one should know.
The person who carried photographs of a life I couldn’t remember.
Or the person Daniel claimed had destroyed that life.
Adrian watched my expression carefully.
He already knew.
“He told you.””
My throat tightened.
“You knew he would call.””
“Yes.””
“Why?””
“Because Daniel always does the same thing.””
“What thing?””
Adrian looked at the phone in my hand.
“He attacks the truth by making you question the person showing it to you.””
I laughed once.
But there was no humor in it.
“That’s convenient.””
His face fell slightly.
“Vivian.””
“No.””
I stepped away.
“Don’t.””
“Don’t what?””
“Don’t say my name like you’re worried about me.””
The words were sharper than I intended.
But I was tired.
Tired of feeling like a stranger inside my own life.
Tired of two men telling me completely different stories about who I was.
Adrian looked down.
For a moment, he didn’t look like the mysterious man who had followed me for months.
He looked exhausted.
“I knew this would happen.””
“What?””
“That when you started remembering, you wouldn’t know who to trust.””
I crossed my arms.
“And you expected me to trust you?””
“No.””
The answer surprised me.
“No?””
“No.””
He looked directly at me.
“I expected you to hate me.””
The honesty caught me off guard.
“Why?””
“Because that’s what happened last time.””
My stomach tightened.
“Last time?””
Adrian looked toward the window.
“You don’t remember the night you left this apartment.””
“No.””
“You were angry.””
“At you?””
“Yes.””
“Why?””
His silence was too long.
I felt something inside me shift.
“What aren’t you telling me?””
Adrian walked to the table and picked up the USB drive.
“There are things I wanted to tell you slowly.””
“Why?””
“Because the truth destroyed you once already.””
I stared at him.
“What does that mean?””
He turned the drive over in his hand.
“It means you didn’t lose your memories because of one event.””
“Then what?””
“You chose to erase part of yourself.””
The words landed like a physical blow.
“No.””
“Yes.””
“I wouldn’t do that.””
“You did.””
“Why?””
His eyes met mine.
“Because you found out what Daniel had done.””
I shook my head.
“You keep saying that.””
“Because it’s true.””
“Then prove it.””
The room went quiet.
Adrian looked at the USB drive.
Then he walked toward an old laptop sitting on the desk.
“You’re sure?””
I hesitated.
That question bothered me.
Because he wasn’t pushing.
He wasn’t manipulating.
He was giving me a choice.
And somehow, that made everything more frightening.
“Yes.””
He connected the drive.
The screen flickered.
A folder appeared.
No name.
Only a date.
June 14.
My birthday.
I felt my chest tighten.
“Why that date?””
Adrian didn’t answer.
The folder opened.
Inside were dozens of files.
Documents.
Photos.
Audio recordings.
My hand moved toward the table.
“What am I looking at?””
“Your investigation.””
“My what?””
“Before you disappeared, you were collecting evidence.””
I looked at the screen.
The first file was a photograph.
A building.
A laboratory.
A sign outside.
MERIDIAN RESEARCH CENTER.
I felt nothing.
No recognition.
No memory.
Then I saw the second image.
Daniel.
Younger.
Standing beside a group of scientists.
My breathing changed.
“Daniel worked there?””
“Yes.””
The third image appeared.
A document.
A list of names.
I scanned it.
Then stopped.
My own name was there.
My full name.
Under a section titled:
*Memory Reconstruction Trial Participants.*
I pushed away from the desk.
“No.””
Adrian moved closer.
“Vivian.””
“No.””
My hands began shaking.
“This says I volunteered.””
“Yes.””
“That’s impossible.””
“It isn’t.””
“I would never agree to something like this.””
Adrian’s voice softened.
“You didn’t know what it really was.””
I looked at him.
“Explain.””
He took a breath.
“The program was supposed to help trauma victims.””
“By changing memories?””
“By reducing painful memories.””
I stared at the screen.
“And Daniel?””
“He changed the purpose.””
“To what?””
Adrian’s jaw tightened.
“To controlling people.””
A cold silence followed.
I looked back at the document.
There was a signature at the bottom.
Mine.
Except it wasn’t.
The letters looked similar.
But something felt wrong.
“This isn’t my signature.””
Adrian looked surprised.
“What?””
“I never sign my name like this.””
I pointed at the screen.
“The V is different.””
He stared.
Then slowly nodded.
“You’re right.””
“What?””
“That isn’t your signature.””
A strange fear moved through me.
“Then whose is it?””
Adrian didn’t answer.
I looked through more files.
Another document.
Another name.
Another signature.
Then I saw it.
My mother’s.
“This was signed by my mother.””
“Yes.””
“Why?””
Adrian became quiet.
“Because she was trying to stop them.””
I looked at him.
“Then why would she sign anything?””
“Because she thought she could fix it.””
The laptop screen suddenly changed.
A video file opened automatically.
A woman appeared.
My mother.
Older.
Tired.
Sitting in a dark room.
I stopped breathing.
I hadn’t seen her face in years.
Not in my dreams.
Not in old pictures.
Not anywhere.
But there she was.
Alive.
My fingers covered my mouth.
“Mom…”
Adrian looked away.
Giving me privacy.
The video began.
My mother looked directly into the camera.
“Vivian, if you’re watching this, then something went wrong.””
Tears filled my eyes.
Her voice.
I knew that voice.
Even after all these years.
“I’m sorry.””
She looked down.
“I wanted to protect you.””
The video shook slightly.
Like someone was holding the camera.
“You need to understand something. The memory procedure was never meant for you.””
I leaned closer.
“What?””
My mother continued.
“Daniel changed the system.””
A pause.
“He used my research to create a way to remove specific memories.””
My heart pounded.
“Memories connected to people.””
She looked frightened.
“People like Adrian.””
I looked at him.
His face had gone pale.
My mother continued.
“He will tell you he loved you.””
The words hurt.
“He will tell you he tried to save you.””
Adrian whispered:
“No…”
I looked at him.
My mother’s eyes filled with tears.
“But Vivian, you need to remember what happened before you trust him.””
The screen glitched.
Then her voice became urgent.
“If Adrian is with you when you see this…”
She stopped.
A sound came from outside the room in the recording.
My mother turned her head.
Fear appeared on her face.
“No.””
The video shook violently.
Someone entered.
A man’s voice.
“You shouldn’t have recorded this.””
My blood froze.
Because I knew that voice.
Daniel.
My mother looked at him.
“You killed my daughter.””
Silence.
Then Daniel replied.
“No.””
The video froze for a second.
Then continued.
“I saved her.””
The screen went black.
I couldn’t move.
Adrian didn’t speak.
Neither did I.
Because suddenly, the impossible became possible.
My mother had warned me about Adrian.
But she had also accused Daniel.
And neither answer made sense.
I slowly turned toward Adrian.
“Why did she say that?””
He looked devastated.
“I don’t know.””
“You don’t know?””
“No.””
“You were there, weren’t you?””
His silence was enough.
I stepped back.
“You were there.””
“Yes.””
“What happened that night?””
His eyes closed.
“I tried to stop them.””
“But my mother thought you were the danger.””
“I know.””
“Why?””
Adrian opened his eyes.
And for the first time, I saw something I had never seen before.
Guilt.
“Because I was the one who brought Daniel into our lives.””
My heart sank.
“What?””
He looked at the photograph on the table.
“The man you trusted for five years…”
A pause.
“He only knew you because of me.””
I couldn’t speak.
Adrian continued.
“Before Daniel erased your memories…”
His voice broke.
“You asked me to do something.””
“What?””
He looked at me.
“You asked me to make sure you forgot.””
I stared.
“No.””
“Yes.””
“Why?””
Adrian looked at the notebook.
“Because you discovered the truth.””
The lights in the apartment suddenly flickered.
Once.
Twice.
Then went out.
The darkness swallowed the room.
A second later, we heard something.
The sound of the front door unlocking.
Adrian’s face changed instantly.
“Someone’s here.””
I held my breath.
A shadow moved in the hallway.
Then a voice spoke from the darkness.
“Vivian.””
My blood turned cold.
Because I recognized it.
Daniel.
May you like
And he said the words that shattered everything Adrian had told me.
“You need to leave with me before he tells you why you really disappeared.””