Chapter 5 - The Lie I Asked Her To Believe
"I want Emily to believe I abandoned her."
The sentence repeated inside my head.
Again.
And again.
I stared at the screen.
At myself.
At the younger version of me sitting across from Richard Vale.
I looked like a stranger.
But it was my voice.
My face.
My decision.
Emily stood beside me, holding her breath.
My mother looked away.
That was when I understood something.
Everyone had been afraid of this moment.
Everyone except me.
Because I was the only person who didn't know what I had done.
"What does that mean?"
My voice sounded empty.
Emily didn't answer.
She didn't need to.
The recording continued.
Six years earlier.
My younger self leaned forward.
Richard placed a folder on the table.
"You understand the consequences?"
My younger self nodded.
"I do."
"You understand Emily will hate you?"
A pause.
Then my younger voice said:
"She has to."
I felt my chest tighten.
No.
That wasn't possible.
I looked at Emily.
Her eyes were filled with tears.
"You knew?"
She looked at me.
"I knew you were hiding something."
My stomach dropped.
"What?"
She shook her head.
"I didn't know what."
The recording continued.
My younger self opened the folder.
Inside was the same agreement I was holding now.
But there was something different.
A handwritten note attached to it.
Richard pointed at the document.
"Once you sign this, your mother will make sure Emily believes you walked away."
My younger self looked down.
"And the children?"
Richard answered:
"They will be protected."
Protected.
That word.
That single word.
I hated it.
Because everyone kept using it while destroying everything.
My younger self took the pen.
Then stopped.
"What about Daniel?"
Richard looked confused.
"What about him?"
My younger self laughed softly.
"If I forget."
Richard leaned back.
"You won't."
The video froze.
I stopped breathing.
Because that sentence felt different.
Not because of what Richard said.
Because of what it suggested.
The accident.
The missing memories.
The years I couldn't explain.
I looked at my mother.
"What did you do to me?"
Her face changed.
"Daniel..."
"What did you do?"
She didn't answer.
Emily stepped forward.
"Your mother told me you had a choice."
I looked at her.
"What choice?"
"She said you chose your company."
I closed my eyes.
A terrible thought entered my mind.
"What if I didn't?"
Nobody spoke.
That silence was terrifying.
Because for the first time, I wasn't searching for who betrayed me.
I was searching for whether I betrayed myself.
My phone rang again.
Mark.
I answered.
"Tell me everything."
His voice was rushed.
"The board is in chaos."
"Why?"
"Because someone released documents showing your company was almost transferred six years ago."
I looked at the legal agreement.
"What company?"
"Your entire business."
My fingers went cold.
"That doesn't make sense."
"Daniel, listen."
Mark lowered his voice.
"The documents show that you personally approved the transfer."
"I didn't."
"Then someone used your signature."
I looked at the video.
At myself.
"Maybe I did."
The words escaped before I could stop them.
Emily looked at me.
"Daniel."
I shook my head.
"I don't know anymore."
That was the hardest thing to admit.
Not knowing myself.
Not trusting my own memories.
I had spent my entire life believing memories were facts.
Now I was looking at proof that my own mind had erased something important.
My mother stepped closer.
"Daniel, you need to understand why you did this."
I looked at her.
"Why?"
She hesitated.
"Because Richard threatened you."
I froze.
"What?"
She looked at Emily.
Then at the twins.
Then back at me.
"Richard wasn't just my attorney."
The airport noise seemed to disappear.
"He was your business partner."
I stared.
"No."
"He helped build your company."
"No."
"He knew everything about your finances."
I shook my head.
"I would remember him."
My mother whispered:
"Not after the accident."
I felt sick.
"What happened?"
She looked down.
"Six years ago, you discovered Richard was stealing from your company."
Emily nodded slowly.
"You found evidence."
I looked at her.
"How do you know?"
"Because you told me."
The pieces started moving.
The missing memories.
The documents.
The fear.
"You told me you needed to protect everyone."
Emily's voice became softer.
"You said Richard would destroy anyone who stood against him."
I looked at the children.
My sons.
My reason.
The reason I might have sacrificed everything.
"But why would I make Emily hate me?"
My mother answered.
"Because Richard was watching you."
I turned.
"What?"
"He knew Emily was your weakness."
The word felt wrong.
Weakness.
She wasn't my weakness.
She was the person I loved.
"He threatened her?"
My mother nodded.
"He said if you didn't cooperate, Emily and the children would disappear."
Emily looked down.
"I didn't know that."
"You weren't supposed to."
I looked at my mother.
"You knew?"
She swallowed.
"Yes."
My anger returned.
"You knew she was being threatened."
"Yes."
"You knew I was trying to protect her."
"Yes."
"And you let me believe she abandoned me?"
My mother cried silently.
"I thought you would remember eventually."
I laughed bitterly.
"Remember?"
I pointed at my head.
"I spent six years thinking the woman I loved destroyed my life."
Nobody answered.
Because there was nothing to say.
Then Lucas walked toward me.
Small steps.
Careful steps.
He looked up.
"Are you my daddy?"
The question broke me.
I knelt down.
I didn't know what to say.
I had imagined this moment differently.
A perfect moment.
A happy moment.
Not in an airport.
Not surrounded by secrets.
Not after discovering my own family had rewritten my life.
"I think I am."
The boy looked at me.
Then smiled slightly.
"Mommy said you had a nice smile."
I couldn't speak.
Emily covered her mouth.
Because she remembered.
She remembered the things I didn't.
My phone buzzed.
Another message.
This time from Richard.
A photo.
My blood froze.
It was a picture of Emily and the twins.
Taken minutes ago.
Inside the airport.
Someone had been watching us.
Below the image was a message:
You found them. Now find out what you did.
I looked around.
Hundreds of faces.
Thousands of possibilities.
Someone was nearby.
Someone had been following every step.
My mother grabbed my shoulder.
"Daniel."
I turned.
"What?"
Her expression changed.
Not fear.
Panic.
She pointed toward the airport exit.
"He's not watching from outside."
I followed her eyes.
A man stood near the glass doors.
Dark coat.
Gray hair.
Watching us.
Then he slowly raised his phone.
And my phone rang.
May you like
The caller ID appeared.
Richard Vale.
