Chapter 8 - THE DOCTOR’S CONFESSION
The video began with an old man sitting in a dark room.
Dr. Nathan Mercer looked sick.
His skin was gray.
His hands shook.
“If you’re watching this,” he said, “then I’m either dead or I finally found the courage I should have had two years ago.”
Anna stopped breathing.
Mercer looked into the camera.
“Your name is Eliza Harlow.”
Damian closed his eyes.
Anna didn’t move.
“You survived a vehicle crash on Blackridge Mountain. But the crash did not cause all your injuries.”
Damian leaned toward the screen.
Mercer swallowed.
“You were brought to me unconscious. You had a head injury, fractured ribs, and chemical sedation in your bloodstream.”
Anna whispered, “Oh my God.”
“A woman paid me to keep you hidden.”
Celeste’s name seemed to fill the room even before he said it.
But Mercer didn’t.
He continued.
“I was told you were dangerous. Mentally unstable. I was told your husband wanted you kept out of public view.”
Damian slammed his palm against the table.
“Son of a—”
The video continued.
“At first, I believed it. Then I learned your identity.”
Mercer wiped his eyes.
“I should have gone to police. Instead, I took money.”
Anna’s face was empty now.
“When your memory began returning, the woman ordered stronger medication.”
Images flashed in Anna’s mind.
A needle.
Leather straps.
A woman standing beyond frosted glass.
“He’ll choose me after you’re gone.”
Anna gasped.
Damian grabbed her hand.
She didn’t pull away.
Mercer coughed.
“I refused to kill you. That is when I instructed Nurse Rosa to help you escape.”
Anna covered her mouth.
“I knew it.”
Mercer leaned toward the camera.
“I kept one piece of insurance.”
He held up a small black drive.
“Financial records. Messages. Names.”
Damian stood.
“Where is it?”
Mercer answered almost as if he heard him.
“The drive is hidden inside a safe deposit box at First Northern Bank. Box 814. The key was sewn into the lining of the coat Rosa gave you.”
Anna froze.
“My coat.”
“Where is it?” Damian asked.
She looked terrified.
“At my apartment.”
Damian called Marcus.
“Send a team.”
Anna stood.
“No. I’m going.”
“Absolutely not.”
“It’s my coat.”
“Someone tried to poison you three hours ago.”
“Someone stole two years of my life!”
Her voice cracked.
“My son grew up without me.”
Oliver was asleep upstairs, but the pain in her face made Damian feel like he had been struck.
“My husband thought I was dead.”
Damian looked at her.
She realized what she had said.
My husband.
Memory.
Not a guess.
They both felt it.
Anna backed away.
“I remember saying that.”
Damian’s eyes burned.
“Eliza…”
She shook her head.
“Not yet.”
He understood.
She needed proof.
So did he.
They left the mansion before dawn with four security vehicles.
Anna’s apartment was above a closed bakery in a rough part of town.
The front door was already open.
Marcus raised his weapon.
“Stay behind me.”
They entered.
The apartment had been destroyed.
Drawers dumped.
Mattress cut open.
Walls smashed.
Anna ran toward a small closet.
“My coat.”
Gone.
She stood staring at the empty hook.
“We’re too late.”
Damian examined the floor.
Something dark marked the wood.
Blood.
Fresh.
Marcus followed the trail.
It ended near the fire escape.
Then they heard a weak sound.
A woman was lying behind the kitchen counter.
She was bleeding from the stomach.
Anna dropped beside her.
“Rosa?”
The woman opened her eyes.
“Elizabeth…”
Anna grabbed her hand.
“Who did this?”
Rosa coughed blood.
“She knows… you came home.”
“Who?”
Rosa’s eyes shifted toward Damian.
Then she whispered one name.
May you like
“Celeste.”
And the lights went out.
