Chapter 5 - The Memory I Was Forced To Forget
"Emily... you finally remembered me."
The voice behind me froze my entire body.
I knew that voice.
Not from years of friendship.
Not from a happy memory.
From somewhere deeper.
Somewhere buried.
I turned around slowly.
The restaurant lights flickered back on.
And standing near the entrance was a man I had not seen in eight years.
My hands immediately went numb.
Because I knew him.
But I didn't know why.
"Thomas..."
The name escaped my lips before I even realized I had spoken.
Everyone looked at me.
Daniel stepped closer.
"Emily, you know him?"
I couldn't answer.
Because my mind was fighting itself.
One part of me knew this man.
Another part of me was screaming that I had never met him before.
Thomas looked older.
His hair had more gray.
His face carried years of exhaustion.
But his eyes were exactly the same.
The same eyes from a memory I couldn't fully reach.
Michael stood up suddenly.
"You shouldn't be here."
Thomas looked at him.
"Neither should you."
The tension between them was immediate.
Like two people who had been waiting years for this moment.
I looked at Michael.
"Who is he?"
Michael didn't answer.
Thomas did.
"I was the person who tried to tell you the truth."
My heart tightened.
"About what?"
He looked at me.
"About everything."
The restaurant around us felt unreal.
Like I had stepped into someone else's life.
A life where everyone knew my story except me.
I grabbed the edge of the table.
"I don't understand."
Thomas slowly walked closer.
"You will."
Daniel blocked his path.
"Not another step."
Thomas looked at Daniel.
"You still protect her."
Daniel's expression changed.
"You know me?"
Thomas nodded.
"I know everyone who tried to save Emily."
Those words made me look at Daniel.
Everyone who tried to save me.
From what?
From who?
I felt anger rising.
"Stop talking like I'm a child."
Everyone became quiet.
I stood up.
"I am right here."
My voice shook.
"But all of you keep having conversations about my life like I'm not part of it."
I looked at Michael.
"You knew."
I looked at Daniel.
"You knew."
I looked at Linda.
"You knew."
Then I looked at Thomas.
"And apparently you knew too."
I took a breath.
"I want the truth."
Nobody moved.
Nobody spoke.
So I continued.
"Not pieces."
"Not secrets."
"Not things you think I can handle."
"The truth."
Thomas lowered his eyes.
Then he reached into his coat.
He pulled out a small envelope.
It looked old.
Damaged.
Almost identical to the one Linda had given me.
My stomach tightened.
"I was supposed to give this to you eight years ago."
I stared at it.
"Why didn't you?"
Thomas looked at Michael.
"Because he stopped me."
Michael immediately stepped forward.
"That's a lie."
Thomas laughed quietly.
"Is it?"
Michael's face turned cold.
"You don't know what happened."
"I know exactly what happened."
Daniel looked between them.
"What happened eight years ago?"
Thomas looked at me.
"Emily disappeared."
I frowned.
"What?"
He continued.
"Not physically."
His voice became softer.
"Everyone thought you were still living your normal life."
I felt a chill.
"But you weren't."
My fingers tightened.
"What are you saying?"
Thomas looked directly into my eyes.
"I'm saying the Emily standing here today is missing eight years of memories."
The room went silent.
I laughed once.
A nervous, confused laugh.
"No."
Nobody responded.
Because nobody looked surprised.
That was the worst part.
I turned toward Michael.
"You knew this?"
His silence answered me.
My chest hurt.
"You knew?"
Michael finally spoke.
"Yes."
I felt like the floor moved beneath me.
"Why?"
He looked broken.
"Because you asked me to."
I froze.
"What?"
Michael stepped closer.
"You don't remember."
"Remember what?"
He swallowed.
"The accident."
A strange feeling moved through me.
An accident.
A word that felt familiar.
A word that made my head hurt.
Images flashed.
A dark road.
Rain.
A loud sound.
Someone shouting my name.
Then nothing.
I grabbed my head.
A sharp pain went through me.
Daniel immediately moved toward me.
"Emily."
I closed my eyes.
"I saw something."
Everyone became still.
"What?"
I looked at Michael.
"I was in a car."
His face changed.
"You remember?"
"Not everything."
My breathing became faster.
"But I remember being afraid."
Thomas looked at Michael.
"You promised her she would know one day."
Michael looked away.
"I was trying to protect her."
Thomas's voice became angry.
"No. You were protecting yourself."
The accusation hung in the air.
I looked at Michael.
"What happened after the accident?"
Nobody answered.
Then Linda quietly spoke.
"Emily woke up with no memory of the previous eight years."
My eyes widened.
"Eight years?"
She nodded.
"The doctors said it was possible her memories would return slowly."
I stared.
"But why didn't anyone tell me?"
Linda looked at Michael.
Because the answer was obvious.
Michael finally spoke.
"Because when you woke up, you were happy."
I looked at him.
"What?"
"You didn't remember the pain."
His voice cracked.
"You didn't remember the betrayal. You didn't remember the people who hurt you."
I shook my head.
"So you decided to let me live a lie?"
"I decided to let you live."
Those words made me angry.
"No."
I stepped closer.
"You decided what my life should be."
Michael looked devastated.
"I was scared."
"Of what?"
He looked at Thomas.
"Of them finding you again."
Everyone froze.
"Who?"
Michael didn't answer.
Thomas did.
"The people who caused the accident."
My blood ran cold.
"What people?"
Thomas looked at the documents on the table.
"The same people who created those fake accounts under your name."
Daniel's expression changed.
"Are you saying the accident wasn't random?"
Thomas nodded.
"It was a warning."
I stared at him.
A warning.
For what?
Thomas reached into the envelope.
He removed a photograph.
He placed it in front of me.
My breath stopped.
It was another picture of me.
But this one was different.
I wasn't alone.
I was standing beside a woman.
A woman I didn't recognize.
But the woman was holding my hand.
And written on the back of the photo were five words:
"She was your best friend."
I looked up.
"Who is she?"
Nobody answered.
Then Thomas whispered:
"Her name was Ava."
The moment he said the name, my head exploded with another memory.
A woman's voice.
Crying.
Begging.
"Emily, don't trust him..."
I stumbled backward.
Daniel caught me.
"Emily?"
I looked at Michael.
Because suddenly I remembered something.
A tiny piece of that forgotten night.
I remembered Ava.
I remembered her standing in front of me.
I remembered her saying Michael's name.
And I remembered the fear in her eyes.
I looked at Thomas.
"Where is she?"
Thomas didn't speak.
His silence terrified me.
"Where is Ava?"
Finally, he answered.
"She disappeared the same night you lost your memory."
The room went quiet.
Then Thomas looked at me.
"Because she was the last person who saw what really happened."
My phone suddenly vibrated.
Everyone looked down.
A new message had appeared.
Unknown number.
One sentence.
"Emily, if you are reading this, it means Thomas failed to keep you away from me."
I stared at the screen.
Then another message arrived.
A photo.
Taken moments ago.
Outside the restaurant.
A woman was standing beside my car.
A woman I had never seen before.
But I recognized her immediately.
Because she was wearing the same necklace as the woman in the photograph.
May you like
And underneath the picture was one final message:
"Ask Ava why she left you to die."
