Chapter 6 - The Woman In The Recording
The video kept playing.
Nobody moved.
Nobody spoke.
The woman standing beside Adrian’s crashed car was wearing my wedding dress.
My wedding dress.
The same one I wore when I married him.
The same one hanging inside my closet.
The same one I remembered putting away after our ceremony.
But the date on the screen was impossible.
The accident happened three months after our wedding.
So how was I standing there?
I looked at Adrian.
He was staring at the screen like he had forgotten how to breathe.
"Emma..."
His voice was barely audible.
I couldn't answer.
Because I didn't have one.
The woman in the video looked exactly like me.
Same hair.
Same body.
Same face.
But something was wrong.
The way she moved.
The way she stood.
It didn't feel like me.
It felt like someone pretending to be me.
"Play it again."
Adrian's voice was cold.
The man holding the tablet nodded and restarted the recording.
This time, I forced myself to watch every second.
The camera angle showed the mountain road.
Rain covered everything.
Adrian's car was parked near the edge.
The driver's door was open.
A figure walked toward it.
Me.
Or someone who looked like me.
She stood beside the car.
Then Adrian appeared.
He wasn't unconscious.
He was standing.
Arguing.
The video had no sound.
But their movements told a story.
Adrian looked angry.
The woman looked desperate.
Then she reached toward him.
And Adrian stepped back.
A few seconds later...
Another car appeared.
The screen shook.
The crash happened.
The video froze.
The entire room felt like it had stopped with it.
I looked at Clara.
"You knew about this."
She nodded slowly.
"Yes."
"Why didn't you tell me?"
Her expression softened.
"Because you didn't remember."
I looked back at the screen.
"I don't understand."
Adrian reached for my hand.
"Neither do I."
But I noticed something.
He wasn't looking at the video anymore.
He was looking at me.
Like he was trying to solve a puzzle.
"Emma."
I turned.
"Do you remember your wedding day?"
The question surprised me.
"Of course."
"Everything?"
I frowned.
"What do you mean?"
He hesitated.
"Do you remember arriving at the ceremony?"
I opened my mouth.
Then stopped.
A strange feeling moved through me.
Because suddenly...
I didn't.
I remembered the dress.
The flowers.
The guests.
Adrian's face when he saw me.
But the hours before the ceremony?
Nothing.
A blank space.
Like someone had erased pieces of my life.
"I..."
My voice shook.
"I don't know."
Everyone became quiet.
Julian looked away.
Victoria closed her eyes.
Adrian noticed.
"You knew."
Victoria didn't respond.
"You knew she was missing memories."
Still nothing.
Adrian's voice became harder.
"Mother."
Victoria finally looked at him.
"I was trying to protect you."
He laughed softly.
A painful sound.
"Everyone keeps saying that."
He looked around the room.
"Everyone protects me by lying to me."
I had never seen Adrian like this.
Not angry.
Not powerful.
Just hurt.
Clara stepped closer.
"Emma, there is something you need to understand."
I looked at her.
"Before the accident, you weren't Adrian's wife."
The words hit me.
"What?"
Adrian immediately turned toward her.
"Clara."
"No."
She shook her head.
"She deserves the truth."
I looked at Adrian.
"What does she mean?"
He didn't answer.
That silence was enough.
I stepped away from him.
"No."
My voice became smaller.
"Tell me she's wrong."
Adrian looked devastated.
"Emma..."
"Tell me."
He couldn't.
And that hurt more than anything.
Clara spoke quietly.
"You married Adrian twice."
The room went silent.
I stared at her.
"What?"
"The first wedding wasn't public."
My heart started racing.
"What are you talking about?"
Clara looked at Adrian.
"He married you in secret."
I turned toward him.
"Why?"
Adrian lowered his eyes.
"Because my family would never accept you."
The answer shocked me.
"But why would I forget that?"
Nobody spoke.
Then Clara said:
"Because after that wedding, someone made sure you forgot."
My skin went cold.
I looked at Victoria.
Then Julian.
Then Adrian.
"Who?"
No one answered.
I felt tears forming.
"Who took my memories?"
Adrian reached toward me.
But I stepped back.
I needed space.
I needed air.
Because my entire life suddenly felt like a story someone else had written.
The apartment.
The wedding.
The accident.
My relationship with Adrian.
How much of it was real?
How much was chosen for me?
Clara looked at Adrian.
"You need to tell her about the night before the accident."
Adrian closed his eyes.
"I can't."
My chest tightened.
"Why?"
His answer was quiet.
"Because I promised I would never tell you."
I stared at him.
"Promised who?"
He didn't answer.
Then the tablet suddenly made a sound.
A notification.
The man who brought the video looked at the screen.
His face changed.
"Mr. Vale..."
Adrian turned.
"What?"
The man swallowed.
"There is another file attached to the recording."
Julian immediately stepped forward.
"No."
Everyone looked at him.
That single word exposed him.
Adrian noticed.
"What do you know?"
Julian stopped.
"I don't know anything."
"You're lying."
Julian looked at the tablet.
The man's fingers hovered over the file.
"Should I open it?"
Nobody answered.
Then Adrian said:
"Do it."
The file opened.
A new video appeared.
The timestamp was from the night before the accident.
The camera showed a private room.
A hotel room.
A woman entered.
I leaned closer.
Because I recognized the place.
It was the same hotel where Adrian and I had celebrated our first anniversary.
The woman sat down.
Then another person entered.
The camera angle changed.
The second person turned toward the lens.
My breath stopped.
Because I knew that face too.
It was me.
But this time...
May you like
I wasn't wearing my wedding dress.
I was holding a gun.
