Chapter 6: The Night I Forgot
For several seconds, nobody moved.
The apartment was silent except for the faint hum of the old refrigerator in the kitchen.
I stared at Adrian.
Not the man outside the hotel.
Not the man who had brought me photographs and a notebook.
Not the man who looked at me like I was something precious.
I looked at him like a stranger.
Because maybe he was.
“Who did you kill?””
My voice sounded different.
Colder.
Adrian didn’t answer.
That was all the answer I needed.
I stepped backward.
“No.””
“Vivian.””
“No.””
His face tightened.
“Please let me explain.””
“You’ve been explaining all night.””
My hand shook as I held my phone.
“You told me I lost my memories because someone wanted to hurt me.””
“I believe that.””
“You told me Daniel was the person responsible.””
“He is.””
“You told me you were trying to save me.””
“I was.””
“Then why does a video of me tell me not to trust you?””
Adrian looked at the screen.
His expression changed.
Not anger.
Not confusion.
Fear.
“You weren’t supposed to have that.””
I stared.
“What?””
His silence made my stomach twist.
“You knew about the video.””
“No.””
“You knew I recorded something.””
“I knew you were afraid.””
“Of you?””
He looked away.
That hurt more than if he had answered.
“Adrian.””
His voice was barely audible.
“Not exactly.””
I laughed bitterly.
“Not exactly?””
Daniel stood near the doorway, watching.
For once, he wasn’t interrupting.
He looked almost sad.
“Vivian,” Daniel said quietly.
I turned toward him.
“What?””
“You need to understand what happened that night.””
I looked between them.
“No more half-truths.””
Daniel nodded.
“Agreed.””
Adrian looked at him sharply.
“What are you doing?””
“Giving her what she deserves.””
The words surprised me.
Because Daniel had never sounded like he was helping me.
Until now.
“Start talking.””
Daniel walked to the table.
He placed his hands on the surface.
“Twelve years ago, your father was involved with Meridian.””
I frowned.
“My father?””
“Yes.””
“My father died before any of this.””
“No.””
The answer was calm.
Too calm.
“He disappeared.””
The room tilted.
“My mother told me he died.””
“She told you what she thought would keep you safe.””
I shook my head.
“No.””
Daniel continued.
“Your father discovered what Meridian was doing.””
“What?””
“He found out Daniel was using the memory technology for illegal purposes.””
I looked at Adrian.
“And you were there?””
Adrian nodded slowly.
“Yes.””
The honesty hurt.
“Why?””
“Because I was trying to expose him.””
Daniel looked at him.
“Too late.””
Adrian’s expression hardened.
“Not true.””
“Then tell her what happened.””
Adrian went quiet.
I looked at him.
“Tell me.””
He took a long breath.
“The night your father disappeared, you found the files.””
“What files?””
“The evidence against Meridian.””
My mind flashed.
A computer screen.
A room.
Someone saying my name.
Gone.
“You were going to report them.””
“Yes.””
“Then what happened?””
Adrian looked down.
“You found out your father wasn’t just a victim.””
My eyebrows pulled together.
“What does that mean?””
“He had been working with Daniel.””
The words made no sense.
“My father?””
“Yes.””
“No.””
I shook my head.
“My father was kind.””
Adrian’s expression softened.
“I know.””
“Then why?””
“Because people can be more than one thing.””
I hated that answer.
Because it sounded true.
“What did he do?””
Adrian hesitated.
“Your father helped build the first version of the memory system.””
My chest tightened.
“And my mother?””
“She discovered what he was doing.””
“So they were enemies?””
“No.””
Adrian looked at me.
“They loved each other.””
The answer somehow made it worse.
Because betrayal from someone you love hurt more.
“What happened that night?””
Adrian’s eyes moved toward the window.
And when he spoke, his voice changed.
Like he was no longer in the apartment.
Like he was back there.
“Twelve years ago, you called me.””
I listened.
“You were crying.””
A memory flickered.
A phone.
A shaking hand.
A voice.
“Come here.””
I grabbed my arm.
“Stop.””
Adrian noticed.
“You remember.””
“No.””
But I did.
Not fully.
Just pieces.
“You told me Daniel knew.””
Adrian continued.
“You told me your father had confessed everything.””
The room felt colder.
“You said you were going to meet him.””
“Why?””
“To get the last copy of the research.””
“The USB drive?””
“Yes.””
I looked at the table.
The old drive sat there.
Waiting.
“What happened when I got there?””
Adrian’s face changed.
“You weren’t alone.””
“Who was with me?””
He didn’t answer.
“Adrian.””
His eyes closed.
“Your father.””
I froze.
“My father was alive?””
“Yes.””
“What happened?””
The silence was unbearable.
Then Adrian whispered:
“You shot him.””
The words destroyed the room.
I couldn’t breathe.
“No.””
“You were holding the gun.””
“No.””
“You didn’t know what you were doing.””
“No.””
“I was there.””
I stared at him.
“You saw me?””
“Yes.””
“And you let me forget?””
His face broke.
“I tried to stop you from remembering.””
I felt sick.
“Why?””
“Because after it happened, you couldn’t live with it.””
“That doesn’t give you the right.””
“I know.””
“Then why?””
“Because you were begging me.””
His voice cracked.
“You were covered in blood, Vivian.””
I closed my eyes.
“No.””
“You kept saying you didn’t want to remember.””
“No.””
“You said you wanted everything gone.””
The room spun.
A memory came.
A gun.
A scream.
My hands.
Red.
A man falling.
I opened my eyes.
Adrian was watching me.
“You saw it.””
I couldn’t answer.
Because I did.
But there was something wrong.
Something missing.
A piece that didn’t fit.
I looked at Daniel.
“What isn’t he telling me?””
Daniel’s expression changed.
Adrian immediately looked at him.
“Don’t.””
Daniel ignored him.
“He didn’t tell you the most important part.””
My heart pounded.
“What?””
Daniel looked at Adrian.
“You didn’t shoot your father by accident.””
Adrian’s face went pale.
“Stop.””
“You shot him because Adrian told you to.””
The room went silent.
I looked at Adrian.
“What?””
“That’s a lie.””
Daniel shook his head.
“Is it?””
Adrian didn’t respond.
I felt something inside me break.
“Adrian?””
He looked at me.
And the worst part was not seeing guilt.
It was seeing fear.
Fear that I would remember.
“Tell me.””
“Vivian…”
“Tell me!””
He closed his eyes.
“I told you to pull the trigger.””
The words were quiet.
But they destroyed everything.
I stepped away.
“Why?””
He looked like he was drowning.
“Because your father was going to activate the procedure.””
“What procedure?””
“The one that would erase you completely.””
I stared.
“You’re saying you saved me?””
“I thought I was.””
“By making me kill him?””
His silence was enough.
I turned away.
I couldn’t look at him.
I couldn’t look at either of them.
Because every answer created another question.
My entire life had become a room full of locked doors.
And everyone had a different key.
Then the laptop suddenly made a sound.
A notification.
All three of us turned.
The USB drive had activated.
A file had opened.
A video.
Recorded twelve years ago.
My own face appeared on the screen.
But this time, I remembered.
Because I was different.
Older somehow.
Broken.
I watched myself stare into the camera.
My eyes were swollen from crying.
Behind me was the same apartment.
And standing beside me…
was Adrian.
The woman on the screen spoke.
“If anything happens to me, I need whoever finds this to know the truth.””
She looked directly at the camera.
“Adrian didn’t make me forget.””
I looked at him.
He stopped breathing.
The video continued.
“He saved me from remembering the worst part.””
A pause.
Then my past self whispered:
“But I’m afraid because I don’t know what he’s protecting me from.””
The screen flickered.
Then my past self said the sentence that made Adrian’s face turn completely white.
“Because the person who really caused my father’s death…”
She looked behind the camera.
“…was me.””
The video stopped.
Nobody spoke.
Then, from somewhere inside the apartment…
a hidden phone began ringing.
Not mine.
Not Adrian’s.
A phone that had been inside the wall.
A phone that had been waiting for twelve years.
Adrian stared at it.
And whispered:
“She found it.””
I looked at him.
“Who?””
His face filled with dread.
“Your mother.””
The phone kept ringing.
Then the voicemail activated by itself.
And a woman’s voice came through the speakers.
My mother’s voice.
“Vivian…”
I stopped breathing.
“If you’re hearing this…”
A pause.
“Then I’m already gone.””
Then she said the words that changed everything.
“And Adrian has finally told you the truth.””
Silence.
“He was never the person you needed to fear.””
The apartment went still.
Then my mother whispered:
“Because he wasn’t the one who killed your father.””
A pause.
“The person who did…”
May you like
Her voice trembled.
“…is the person standing beside you right now.””