Chapter 9 - The Man Who Was Supposed To Be Dead
The lights came back.
But nobody moved.
The voice behind me was gone.
I turned around slowly.
Nothing.
Only the hospital hallway.
Only the open door.
Only the cold air coming from outside.
But I knew what I heard.
Someone had whispered my name.
Someone who knew I had remembered.
Adrian immediately pushed himself up.
"Emma."
I looked at him.
His face was pale.
"Did you see someone?"
I nodded.
"Someone was behind me."
Julian walked toward the door.
"Impossible."
I looked at him.
"Why?"
His expression changed.
Because he already knew the answer.
"Because that person can't be here."
I felt a chill.
"Who?"
Nobody spoke.
Then Victoria whispered:
"Thomas."
The name fell into the room like a stone.
Adrian froze.
His eyes moved toward his mother.
"No."
Victoria looked down.
"Yes."
Adrian shook his head.
"My father is dead."
Nobody answered.
Because everyone knew.
That was the story.
Thomas Vale.
Founder of Vale Global.
A man who died ten years ago from a sudden heart attack.
A man whose death created Adrian's rise.
A man who was buried in front of hundreds of people.
But now everyone was acting like he wasn't dead.
I looked at Victoria.
"You said he was dead."
She closed her eyes.
"I said people believed he was dead."
My heart sank.
Adrian stared at her.
"What did you do?"
Victoria looked at her son.
"I protected you."
He laughed bitterly.
"Again?"
She ignored the pain in his voice.
"Your father discovered too much."
"About what?"
"About the people controlling the company."
Adrian's face hardened.
"My father controlled the company."
"No."
Victoria shook her head.
"He only thought he did."
The room became quiet.
Clara stepped closer.
"Now you understand."
Adrian looked at her.
"You knew?"
Clara nodded.
"I knew Thomas never died."
My eyes moved between them.
"Then why did everyone believe he did?"
Clara looked at me.
"Because someone needed him to disappear."
"Who?"
She looked toward Victoria.
Victoria didn't deny it.
That was the first time I saw her truly afraid.
Not afraid of losing money.
Not afraid of losing power.
Afraid of the truth.
Adrian slowly lowered himself back onto the bed.
His strength was disappearing.
But his questions weren't.
"Where is he?"
Nobody answered.
Then Julian spoke.
"I know where."
Everyone turned.
Adrian looked at him.
"You?"
Julian looked uncomfortable.
"I found documents years ago."
"Why didn't you tell me?"
Julian smiled sadly.
"Because every time I tried, someone stopped me."
I stared at him.
"Who?"
Julian looked at Victoria.
Then at Clara.
Then finally at Adrian.
"Everyone."
The answer was worse than a name.
Because it meant there was no one left to trust.
The tablet on the table suddenly turned on.
Everyone looked at it.
The screen was black.
Then a video began playing.
No one touched it.
A man appeared.
Older.
Gray hair.
Sharp eyes.
My blood turned cold.
Because I recognized him.
Not from memory.
From the photograph.
The same man standing behind us in the hospital picture.
Thomas Vale.
Adrian stood frozen.
"Father."
Thomas looked directly into the camera.
"If you are watching this, it means Adrian has woken up."
His voice was calm.
Almost emotionless.
"Which means my plan failed."
Adrian stepped closer.
"What plan?"
The video continued.
Thomas looked away for a moment.
"When people watch this, they will tell you many things."
He paused.
"They will tell you I was a monster."
Victoria's face changed.
"They will tell you I betrayed my family."
Clara looked down.
"They will tell you Emma was innocent."
My breath stopped.
Thomas looked directly into the camera.
"But the truth is more complicated."
Adrian stared.
"Why is he talking about Emma?"
Nobody answered.
The video continued.
"Emma Carter was not chosen randomly."
I felt my body freeze.
"What?"
Thomas continued.
"She was selected because she was the only person who could destroy the system from inside."
My mind went blank.
Selected?
Destroy?
I looked at Adrian.
He looked just as confused.
Thomas continued:
"Adrian, if you love her, you must remember one thing."
The screen flickered.
"Emma was never your weakness."
A pause.
"She was your protection."
Nobody moved.
Then Thomas said the sentence that changed everything.
"Because Emma is the only person who knows where I hid the evidence."
The video ended.
Silence.
I couldn't breathe.
Everyone looked at me.
I looked back.
"I don't know what he's talking about."
But something inside me changed.
Because deep down...
A part of me knew.
There was something missing.
Not just memories.
Something important.
Something I had hidden from myself.
Adrian walked closer.
"Emma."
I looked at him.
"What?"
His voice was gentle.
"Do you remember anything about my father?"
I shook my head.
"No."
Then suddenly—
A sharp pain moved through my head.
I grabbed my temple.
A memory flashed.
A room.
A locked door.
Thomas Vale standing in front of me.
And a sentence.
A sentence I had forgotten.
"You can't hide it from me forever, Emma."
I gasped.
Adrian caught me.
"Emma?"
I looked at him.
Tears filled my eyes.
"I remember."
Everyone froze.
"What?"
I looked toward the tablet.
Toward Thomas's face frozen on the screen.
"I remember meeting him."
Adrian's expression changed.
"When?"
My hands started shaking.
"The night before our wedding."
Nobody spoke.
Because that was impossible.
Thomas had been dead for ten years.
But my memory was clear.
I had seen him.
I had spoken to him.
And he had given me something.
Something I was supposed to protect.
I looked at Adrian.
"I didn't marry you because I loved you."
The words hurt him.
I saw it.
But I continued.
"At least..."
I swallowed.
"Not at first."
The room became silent.
Because everyone understood.
My missing memories were returning.
And they were changing everything.
Then my phone started ringing.
I looked down.
Unknown number.
Nobody touched it.
Nobody moved.
But the screen showed one message before the call ended.
A picture.
A picture of me.
From the night before my wedding.
Standing beside Thomas Vale.
Holding a small black box.
May you like
And beneath the picture were four words:
OPEN IT BEFORE HE DOES.
