Chapter 10 - The Box He Never Wanted Me To Open
The message stayed on my phone.
OPEN IT BEFORE HE DOES.
I stared at the picture.
My hands were shaking.
The woman in the image was me.
The man beside me was Thomas Vale.
And between us was the small black box.
The same box I had no memory of.
The same box someone wanted me to find.
I looked around the room.
Nobody spoke.
Everyone was waiting.
Waiting for me to remember.
Waiting for me to explain something I didn't even understand.
Adrian stepped closer.
"Emma."
I looked at him.
His eyes weren't angry.
They were hurt.
"Who sent that?"
I shook my head.
"I don't know."
He took my phone.
He studied the image carefully.
Then his face changed.
Because he recognized something.
"The background."
I looked at him.
"What?"
He pointed at the picture.
"The room."
I stared at it.
Then I saw it.
A painting behind us.
A wooden cabinet.
A large window.
I knew that place.
But I didn't know how.
"Where is this?"
Adrian didn't answer immediately.
Then he whispered:
"My father's private office."
The room went silent.
Victoria immediately looked away.
Julian noticed.
"You knew."
Victoria said nothing.
Adrian turned toward her.
"You knew Emma met him there."
Victoria's face hardened.
"I knew she was involved."
My heart sank.
"Involved?"
I looked at her.
"You knew?"
Victoria looked at me.
"I knew Thomas chose you."
The words felt impossible.
"Chose me for what?"
Nobody answered.
Then Clara stepped forward.
"For the evidence."
I looked at her.
"What evidence?"
She looked at the black box in the picture.
"Everything your father-in-law spent years hiding."
I frowned.
"My father-in-law?"
Adrian looked at me.
"Thomas."
I shook my head.
"I don't understand."
Clara sighed.
"Thomas built Vale Global using a network of illegal agreements."
Adrian looked at her.
"That's what I was investigating."
"Yes."
Clara nodded.
"But you were looking in the wrong direction."
"What does that mean?"
She looked at me.
"The evidence wasn't hidden in the company."
My stomach tightened.
"Where was it?"
Clara pointed at the picture.
"In that box."
I looked down at my phone again.
The small black box suddenly felt heavier than a memory.
It felt like a warning.
Adrian walked toward me.
"Do you remember where you put it?"
I closed my eyes.
I tried.
Nothing.
Then—
A flash.
A dark room.
Thomas standing in front of me.
His face serious.
His voice low.
"Emma, if Adrian ever wakes up, give this to him."
I opened my eyes.
I was breathing heavily.
"What happened?"
Adrian held my shoulders.
"What did you see?"
I looked at him.
"I remember him."
Everyone froze.
"What did he say?"
I swallowed.
"He gave me the box."
Adrian's expression changed.
"What?"
"He told me to keep it safe."
Victoria whispered:
"No."
I looked at her.
"You knew."
Her eyes filled with fear.
"I knew Thomas trusted you."
"Why?"
She didn't answer.
"Why me?"
Victoria looked at Adrian.
Then at me.
"Because he knew everyone around him wanted something."
Her voice became softer.
"But you didn't."
I felt confused.
"Then why did I lose my memory?"
Nobody spoke.
Finally, Adrian answered.
"Because someone knew you had it."
I looked at him.
"Who?"
He looked toward the door.
The answer came from Julian.
"Someone who was inside this family."
Everyone turned.
Julian walked closer.
"I found the box."
My heart stopped.
"When?"
He looked uncomfortable.
"Before the accident."
Adrian's eyes narrowed.
"You had it?"
"No."
Julian shook his head.
"I found where it was hidden."
"Where?"
Julian looked at me.
"With Emma."
The room went quiet.
I stepped back.
"With me?"
He nodded.
"You didn't know."
"Why?"
"Because someone erased the evidence."
I looked at my hands.
"Someone erased my memories."
Julian nodded.
"And someone wanted you to believe you were the person who betrayed Adrian."
Adrian looked at the tablet.
The videos.
The fake recordings.
The woman pretending to be me.
Everything connected.
But one question remained.
"If I had the box..."
I looked at Adrian.
"Where is it now?"
Nobody answered.
Then Clara slowly reached into her bag.
She pulled out something small.
My breath stopped.
A black box.
The same one.
She placed it on the table.
"I have it."
Nobody moved.
Adrian stared at her.
"How?"
Clara looked at me.
"Because you gave it to me."
The words crushed the room.
I couldn't breathe.
"No."
Clara nodded.
"You don't remember."
I shook my head.
"I would remember."
"Would you?"
Her voice was quiet.
"You don't remember the wedding before your wedding."
She looked at Adrian.
"You don't remember Thomas."
Then she looked at me.
"And you don't remember giving me this."
I stared at the box.
Something inside me felt wrong.
Not because Clara was lying.
Because a part of me feared she wasn't.
Adrian noticed my expression.
"Emma?"
I looked at him.
"I..."
A memory surfaced.
A hotel room.
Clara crying.
Me holding the box.
And a promise.
"You have to keep him alive."
I gasped.
Adrian grabbed my hand.
"What did you remember?"
I looked at Clara.
"You were there."
She nodded.
"Yes."
"Before the accident."
"Yes."
My voice became smaller.
"You told me something."
Clara waited.
"What did you tell me?"
She looked at Adrian.
Then back at me.
"You told me you knew who was trying to kill him."
The room went silent.
Adrian's face changed.
"Who?"
I looked down.
The memory was incomplete.
A voice.
A name.
A shadow.
Something was there.
Almost reachable.
Then the hospital monitor suddenly started beeping.
Fast.
Too fast.
Everyone turned.
Adrian's medical alarm was flashing.
A nurse rushed inside.
"Mr. Vale's heart rate is dropping."
The room exploded into movement.
Doctors entered.
Everyone stepped back.
I stood frozen.
Because Adrian wasn't looking at the doctors.
He was looking at me.
His lips moved.
I leaned closer.
"What?"
His voice was barely a whisper.
"Emma..."
I held his hand.
"I'm here."
His eyes filled with fear.
"Don't trust..."
The words disappeared under the noise.
The doctors pushed me away.
I watched them surround him.
Then something fell from his hand.
A small piece of paper.
Nobody noticed.
Except me.
I picked it up.
Three words were written on it.
Three words in Adrian's handwriting.
SHE IS HERE.
I looked toward the hospital door.
May you like
Because at that exact moment...
The woman who looked exactly like me walked into the room.
