Chapter 6 - The Voice I Never Remembered
The recording played my voice from six years ago: "Dominic, if you are hearing this, it means I failed."
When Richard pressed the second button on the device, a hidden file appeared with my name.
Inside was one sentence written before my memory disappeared: "Do not trust the man who says he loves you."
I suddenly realized the truth I feared most.
I had left myself a warning.
The sound of my own voice filled the old Carter house.
A voice I recognized.
But didn't remember.
That was the most terrifying part.
It wasn't a stranger speaking.
It was me.
The recording crackled through the small device in Richard's hand.
My voice sounded tired.
Afraid.
Nothing like the woman I was now.
"I don't know how much time I have left."
A pause.
A shaky breath.
"If someone finds this recording, it means they already know."
I looked at Dominic.
He looked completely frozen.
Not angry.
Not defensive.
Just broken.
Like he was hearing something he never wanted to hear again.
Richard watched him carefully.
"You remember this, don't you?"
Dominic didn't answer.
My heart sank.
Because his silence was becoming another confession.
"Dominic?"
My husband's eyes lowered.
"I remember."
The room became colder.
I stepped back.
"You remember my recording?"
He nodded slowly.
"Yes."
"Why?"
He looked at me.
"Because I was there when you made it."
Those words hit harder than the slap.
The slap had hurt my face.
This hurt everything.
"You were there?"
Dominic swallowed.
"Yes."
"When?"
"Before your accident."
I stared at him.
Before my accident.
The phrase repeated in my mind.
Before my accident.
Before I forgot.
Before my entire life changed.
I looked at Richard.
"What happened?"
My father looked older than he did in the photograph.
Not because of age.
Because of regret.
"You were getting too close."
"To what?"
"The truth."
I almost laughed.
Everyone kept saying that.
The truth.
A word that had ruined everything.
"What truth?"
Richard walked toward the desk.
He placed another folder beside the recording device.
"You found out someone inside the company was selling information."
I looked at him.
"What company?"
"My company."
I frowned.
"You owned a company?"
Richard nodded.
"A security firm."
Dominic interrupted.
"Richard, stop."
My father turned toward him.
"No."
The anger in his voice surprised me.
"She deserves to know."
Dominic looked away.
Richard continued.
"Your mother and I built a system that protected important clients. Government officials. Business leaders. People with powerful enemies."
"And someone betrayed you."
"Yes."
"Who?"
Richard's expression changed.
"Richard Vale."
The name again.
The name everyone feared.
I touched the photograph.
"Why did he want me?"
Richard looked at me.
"Because you found something I couldn't."
I froze.
"What?"
He opened another folder.
Inside was a small flash drive.
"This."
Dominic immediately stepped forward.
"Where did you get that?"
Richard looked at him.
"You know exactly where."
Dominic stopped.
I looked between them.
"What is on it?"
Nobody answered.
I took the flash drive.
"Why is everyone afraid of this?"
Richard's voice became quiet.
"Because that drive proves who ordered the attack on you."
My fingers tightened.
"The accident."
Richard nodded.
"It wasn't an accident."
The words should have shocked me.
But somehow...
I already knew.
Because deep inside, I had always felt something was wrong.
The missing pieces.
The fear.
The strange memories.
The feeling that someone was watching me.
I looked at Dominic.
"And you knew."
He didn't deny it.
"I suspected."
I stared at him.
"Suspected?"
His face tightened.
"I spent years trying to find out who did it."
"But you never told me."
"Because you were finally safe."
I shook my head.
"Safe?"
My voice became louder.
"You let me live in a fake life."
"No."
"Yes."
I pointed toward the recording.
"You knew I made this because I was afraid of someone."
Dominic looked at the device.
"And I knew that whoever scared you was still looking for you."
I stopped.
"Still?"
Dominic looked at Richard.
And my father answered.
"Yes."
The room went silent.
"Richard Vale never stopped."
A chill moved through me.
"Then why did he let me live?"
My father looked at the floor.
"Because he thought you forgot everything."
I looked at the recording.
My own voice.
My own warning.
My own secret.
I had not lost everything.
Someone had taken it.
I grabbed the flash drive.
"I need to see what's inside."
Dominic stepped forward.
"No."
I turned.
"No?"
His expression changed.
"Emma, listen to me."
"No."
I held up the drive.
"You don't get to decide what I know anymore."
For a moment, he looked hurt.
Then afraid.
Not for himself.
For me.
That confused me more than anything.
Because the man who lied to me was also the man who kept trying to protect me.
And I didn't know which version of him was real.
We moved to my father's old office.
Richard turned on the computer.
The screen flickered.
A password appeared.
Four words.
"Remember what you buried."
My breathing stopped.
Because I knew that sentence.
Not from memory.
From somewhere else.
A dream.
A nightmare.
A voice whispering in the dark.
Dominic noticed my expression.
"Emma?"
I stepped away from the screen.
"I've seen this before."
Richard looked at me.
"Where?"
I closed my eyes.
And suddenly, pieces returned.
A rainy road.
A car door opening.
Someone running toward me.
A man shouting my name.
Then another voice.
Closer.
Calmer.
"Don't worry. Dominic will take care of everything."
My eyes opened.
I looked at Dominic.
"You were there."
He didn't move.
"Yes."
"That night."
"Yes."
"Who was with you?"
Silence.
Then Richard answered.
"Someone you trusted."
My stomach tightened.
"Who?"
Richard didn't speak.
Because the computer screen changed.
The password disappeared.
A video file opened automatically.
Created six years earlier.
The title appeared.
"Emma's Final Message."
Nobody touched the keyboard.
Nobody moved.
The video started.
My face appeared on the screen.
Six years younger.
Tired.
Terrified.
Looking directly into the camera.
I watched myself take a deep breath.
Then my younger self spoke.
"If you are watching this..."
My hands started shaking.
"...it means Dominic failed to keep you safe."
Dominic closed his eyes.
The video continued.
"I need you to remember one thing."
My younger self leaned closer to the camera.
"Do not believe the person who tells you they saved your life."
The screen flickered.
Then the final image appeared.
A photograph.
A photograph of Dominic.
Standing beside another man.
Richard Vale.
But that wasn't what made me freeze.
It was the date on the photograph.
It was taken three days after my accident.
Three days after I was supposedly unconscious.
Three days after Dominic told everyone he was protecting me.
Then the video ended.
Nobody spoke.
I slowly turned toward Dominic.
He looked like he knew this moment would come.
"Tell me the truth."
His lips parted.
But before he could answer, his phone vibrated.
He looked at the screen.
And his entire face changed.
He handed the phone to me.
A message had arrived from an unknown number.
May you like
Only six words.
"Ask Dominic who was driving the car."
