Chapter 5 - The Girl Who Was Erased From History
The door handle stopped moving.
Nobody in the room breathed.
Adrian Moretti stared at the entrance while his fingers tightened around the old photograph.
Gina stood beside him, frozen.
Because only seconds earlier, she had discovered something impossible.
She was in a photograph taken years before she ever met Adrian.
Standing beside Matteo Moretti.
The man who was supposed to be dead.
The man who had sent warnings from the shadows.
The man who claimed she was the evidence.
Marco moved toward the door.
Adrian raised his hand.
"Wait."
Everyone stopped.
The knock came again.
Three slow knocks.
Not rushed.
Not afraid.
Whoever was outside wanted them to know they were there.
Adrian looked at Gina.
"You need to stay behind me."
She didn't move.
"Why?"
"Because whoever is outside knows about you."
Gina looked at the photograph in his hand.
"Apparently everyone knows about me except me."
Adrian had no answer.
The door opened slowly.
A nurse stepped inside.
Everyone immediately relaxed.
Almost.
Because Adrian noticed something.
The nurse was smiling.
But her eyes weren't.
"Mr. Moretti," she said softly. "I heard there was a problem."
Adrian watched her carefully.
"Your name?"
The nurse hesitated.
Only for a second.
But Adrian noticed.
"Sarah."
"Sarah what?"
The woman's expression changed.
"I don't think that's important."
Marco stepped forward.
"Answer the question."
The nurse looked around the room.
Then at Gina.
Something about that look made Adrian uncomfortable.
Not fear.
Recognition.
"You know her."
The nurse didn't respond.
Adrian's voice became colder.
"I asked you a question."
The woman slowly reached into her pocket.
Marco immediately pulled his weapon.
But the nurse didn't pull a gun.
She pulled an old hospital ID card.
And placed it on the table.
Gina looked at it.
Her face changed.
Because the photo on the ID card...
Was hers.
But older.
Much older.
Adrian picked it up.
The name on the card wasn't Gina Moretti.
It was:
"Gina Bell."
Adrian looked at her.
"Your name isn't Moretti."
Gina stared.
"I know."
The answer surprised him.
"What?"
She looked confused.
"I mean... I always knew my last name was Bell."
Silence.
Adrian looked at the nurse.
"What is this?"
The nurse took a slow breath.
"I came here because I knew this moment would happen."
Marco stepped forward.
"Who are you?"
The nurse ignored him.
She looked at Adrian.
"You need to know the truth before Matteo reaches her."
Adrian's eyes narrowed.
"You know where Matteo is?"
The nurse didn't answer.
Instead, she looked at Gina.
"He never told you, did he?"
Gina's voice shook.
"Told me what?"
The nurse looked at her.
"Why you survived."
The room became silent.
Gina stared.
"I don't understand."
The nurse's expression softened.
"Of course you don't."
She looked at Adrian.
"Because your father made sure you wouldn't."
Adrian felt something inside him shift.
His father.
The name appeared again.
Every secret led back to him.
"What did my father do?"
The nurse looked down.
"Eight years ago, Matteo wasn't running away from Adrian."
She paused.
"He was protecting Gina."
Adrian froze.
Gina shook her head.
"No."
The nurse continued.
"Your family found out about a secret hidden inside Moretti's empire."
"What secret?"
The nurse looked at Adrian.
"A secret that could destroy everyone."
Adrian stepped closer.
"What does Gina have to do with it?"
The nurse looked at Gina.
"She was there the night Matteo disappeared."
Gina's face went pale.
"No."
"You don't remember because your memories were changed."
The words hit the room like an explosion.
Adrian stared.
"Changed?"
The nurse nodded.
"Your father arranged it."
Gina stepped backward.
"Why would anyone do that to me?"
Nobody answered.
Because nobody knew how to explain something that cruel.
Adrian looked at the photograph again.
The young Gina standing beside Matteo.
The warning written on the back.
She doesn't remember what she did.
"What happened that night?"
The nurse looked at him.
"You really want to know?"
"Yes."
The nurse reached into her bag.
She pulled out a small black drive.
A memory device.
Adrian immediately recognized it.
The same type of device Gina had found hidden in his room.
"What is that?"
"The truth."
She placed it on the table.
"But before you watch it, you need to understand something."
Adrian waited.
"Matteo didn't betray you."
A silence followed.
"He sacrificed himself."
Adrian looked away.
Because that sentence hurt more than any accusation.
For eight years, he had hated his brother.
He had built his entire life around that hatred.
And now someone was telling him it was built on a lie.
Gina looked at Adrian.
"Do you believe her?"
Adrian didn't answer immediately.
Because he didn't know.
He had trusted evidence.
He had trusted facts.
But every fact he knew was falling apart.
Finally, he said:
"I believe that someone wants us to find the truth."
The nurse looked nervous.
"Then you need to watch this alone."
Adrian looked at her.
"Why?"
"Because the person who recorded it never wanted anyone else to see."
She walked toward the door.
Gina watched her.
"Who recorded it?"
The nurse stopped.
For a moment, she looked like she regretted coming.
Then she whispered:
"Matteo."
The door closed behind her.
Adrian stared at the black drive.
A message from his dead brother.
A photograph from his dead father.
A woman who didn't remember her own past.
Everything connected to one night.
The night Matteo disappeared.
Hours later, after security cleared the floor, Adrian and Gina sat alone in the dark hospital room.
The video loaded.
The screen flickered.
Then a face appeared.
Matteo Moretti.
Older.
Tired.
Alive.
Gina covered her mouth.
Adrian couldn't move.
His brother looked directly into the camera.
"If you are watching this..."
Matteo paused.
His eyes became serious.
"Then I failed."
Adrian leaned closer.
The video continued.
"I couldn't protect you forever."
Gina looked at Adrian.
Then back at the screen.
Matteo continued:
"The first person you need to fear is not your enemy."
A pause.
"It's the person who raised you."
Adrian's expression changed.
His father.
Then Matteo said something that made Gina suddenly stand.
"Adrian, if Gina is beside you..."
The screen glitched.
The video distorted.
Then Matteo's final words appeared.
"Do not let her remember what happened the night she killed..."
The screen went black.
The room became silent.
Because the last word never finished.
Adrian stared at the frozen screen.
Gina looked terrified.
Then Adrian's phone vibrated.
A new message appeared.
From Matteo's number.
May you like
Only one sentence.
"She just remembered."
