Chapter 3 - The Woman Who Was Supposed to Be Dead
The woman standing at the entrance of the mall didn't look like someone who had just walked into a shocking reunion.
She looked like someone who had been waiting for this moment.
For me.
For Adrian.
For the truth that everyone seemed determined to keep hidden.
I stared at her from across the marble floor.
My mind searched through every memory I had.
A face.
A voice.
A name.
Anything.
But there was nothing.
Only a strange feeling inside my chest.
A feeling that I had seen her before.
That I had known her.
That some forgotten part of me was screaming to remember.
The woman slowly walked closer.
She was in her late forties, wearing an elegant black coat and holding a small leather handbag.
Her eyes never left mine.
Not even for a second.
Adrian moved immediately.
He stepped in front of me.
Protective.
Careful.
Like he was shielding me from something dangerous.
The woman stopped.
A small smile appeared on her face.
"Still protecting her."
Adrian's expression became cold.
"You shouldn't be here."
Her smile disappeared.
"I could say the same about you."
Nobody around us understood what was happening.
But I did.
Not the details.
Not the reason.
But I understood one thing.
There was history between them.
A painful history.
"Who is she?" I whispered.
Adrian didn't answer.
That scared me more than anything.
Because Adrian Vale seemed like a man who always had an answer.
A man who controlled every situation.
But now...
He looked uncertain.
The woman looked past him.
Straight at me.
"Sadie."
Hearing my name from her mouth made my skin crawl.
"How do you know me?"
She took a slow breath.
Then she said something that made my entire body freeze.
"Because I was there the night they took you away."
The noise of the mall disappeared.
Everything became distant.
The shoppers.
The music.
The conversations.
All of it faded.
I only heard those words.
The night they took you away.
"What are you talking about?"
My voice sounded smaller than I wanted.
The woman looked at Adrian.
"He didn't tell you."
It wasn't a question.
It was a statement.
Adrian's jaw tightened.
"Enough."
She ignored him.
"He let you believe you lost your memory."
My heart started beating faster.
"But the truth is..."
She stepped closer.
"Someone wanted you to disappear."
I looked at Adrian.
"You said someone took my memory."
He nodded slowly.
"Yes."
"Who?"
His silence was the answer.
I stepped back.
"No."
I shook my head.
"This doesn't make sense."
The woman reached into her handbag.
Adrian immediately reacted.
"Don't."
But she pulled out a photograph.
She held it toward me.
My hands became cold.
Because even before I saw the picture...
I knew.
I knew something about it would destroy everything I believed.
I took the photograph.
It showed a room.
A hospital room.
A younger version of me was sitting on a bed.
Beside me was Adrian.
But there was something else.
A wedding ring on my finger.
My breath stopped.
"I don't understand."
The woman looked at me sadly.
"You married him."
I stared at the photograph.
"No."
"You did."
"No."
My voice became louder.
"I would remember getting married."
The woman nodded.
"That's exactly why they were able to do this."
I looked at Adrian.
"Who are they?"
His eyes darkened.
Before he could answer, Trevor suddenly laughed.
Everyone turned.
It wasn't a confident laugh.
It was nervous.
Almost desperate.
"You really brought her here?"
Adrian looked at him.
"What did you say?"
Trevor looked at the woman.
Then at me.
"You don't know, do you?"
I felt my stomach drop.
"Know what?"
Trevor looked at Adrian.
"You let her forget everything."
Adrian moved toward him.
But I grabbed his arm.
"Wait."
I needed answers.
For two years, I had lived with missing pieces of my own life.
I had accepted the emptiness.
The strange dreams.
The feeling that something was wrong.
I deserved the truth.
"Tell me."
Trevor looked at me.
His expression changed.
For the first time, I didn't see arrogance.
I saw guilt.
"Sadie..."
"Tell me."
He swallowed.
"You weren't supposed to survive."
The words hit me like a physical blow.
Nobody moved.
Nobody spoke.
Adrian's face changed completely.
"What did you say?"
Trevor looked afraid now.
"I was told she was gone."
"Who told you?"
Trevor didn't answer.
Adrian grabbed his shoulder.
"Who?"
Trevor looked at the woman.
Then at me.
Then whispered:
"Your sister."
The world stopped.
My sister.
I didn't have a sister.
At least...
I didn't remember having one.
"No."
I shook my head.
"My parents only had me."
The woman looked down.
"That's what they wanted you to believe."
My hands started trembling.
"Who are you?"
The woman looked at me with sadness.
"My name is Claire Bennett."
The name meant nothing.
But the way Adrian reacted meant everything.
He stepped backward.
For the first time since I met him...
Adrian looked shocked.
"Claire."
The woman nodded.
"Yes."
I looked between them.
"You know her?"
Adrian didn't answer.
Claire smiled sadly.
"Of course he knows me."
She looked at Adrian.
"I was his first mistake."
The words created a silence that felt unbearable.
I didn't understand.
But I understood enough to know Adrian had secrets.
Big ones.
Secrets connected to me.
Secrets connected to my missing memories.
Claire walked closer.
"Sadie, there is something you need to see."
She took out another object.
A small silver key.
My heart skipped.
Because I recognized it.
I didn't know how.
But I did.
I touched the key.
And suddenly...
A memory flashed.
A dark room.
A locked door.
My own voice crying.
Someone saying my name.
"Sadie, don't open it."
I pulled my hand away.
Everyone noticed.
"What happened?" Adrian asked.
I looked at him.
"I've seen this before."
His expression changed.
"What did you see?"
I tried to breathe.
"A door."
Claire looked terrified.
"What door?"
I looked at the key in my hand.
"I don't know."
But deep inside...
I did know.
Somewhere in my mind, behind the memories someone had taken from me...
That door was waiting.
Adrian stepped closer.
"Sadie, listen to me."
His voice was different now.
Not powerful.
Not commanding.
Afraid.
"You cannot remember that place."
"Why?"
He looked at Claire.
Then at the key.
"Because the last person who opened that door..."
He stopped.
My heart raced.
"Who?"
Nobody answered.
Then Adrian's phone vibrated.
He looked at the screen.
His face turned pale.
I had never seen fear in his eyes before.
Not until that moment.
"What is it?" I asked.
He didn't respond.
He simply turned the phone toward me.
There was a message.
From an unknown number.
One sentence.
One sentence that made Claire step back.
One sentence that made Trevor start shaking.
One sentence that made Adrian whisper my name.
The message said:
May you like
"Your husband never told you who locked you away."
Then the mall lights suddenly went out.
