Chapter 9 - THE MEMORY THEY STOLE
I couldn’t move.
The room felt unreal.
Like I was watching someone else’s life.
But every document had my name.
Every photograph was me.
Every report described moments I remembered.
And moments I didn’t.
Captain Hayes stood behind me.
“You were never supposed to know.”
I turned.
“You knew?”
His silence answered.
“How long?”
“Since the beginning.”
I felt something break inside me.
“You watched this happen?”
“No.”
His voice cracked.
“I tried to stop it.”
I almost believed him.
Almost.
Then I saw another file.
His signature.
Again.
And again.
He wasn’t a victim.
He was part of it.
I opened the file.
Inside was a memory report.
The title:
MEMORY ALTERATION PROCEDURE.
I read the first line.
“Subject will retain emotional response but lose specific memories.”
My hands shook.
They didn’t erase my past.
They edited it.
They removed what they wanted.
I looked at Elias.
“What did they do to you?”
He answered quietly.
“Same thing.”
The room went silent.
“You and I were never enemies.”
I stared at him.
“Then what were we?”
He looked at the patient files.
“Two people fighting the same prison.”
Suddenly, the hospital alarm activated.
Red lights flashed.
Someone had entered the building.
Hayes looked toward the hallway.
“They found us.”
Footsteps approached.
Multiple people.
Armed.
Professional.
Not police.
A private security team.
The door opened.
A man stepped inside.
Older.
Gray hair.
Calm expression.
Dr. Victor Kane.
He smiled.
“James.”
Hearing my name from him felt different.
Because he said it like a father.
Not a stranger.
“You finally woke up.”
I raised my gun.
“You ruined my life.”
Victor smiled.
“No.”
He looked around the room.
“I built it.”
The guards moved closer.
Elias stepped beside me.
Victor looked at him.
“Still protecting him?”
Elias said nothing.
Victor laughed.
“That’s the part I never predicted.”
He looked at me.
“You actually became human.”
The lights suddenly went out.
Gunfire exploded.
Someone grabbed my arm.
We ran.
Through darkness.
Through smoke.
Through the old hospital corridors.
When we reached the exit…
Elias was gone.
Only one thing remained.
A message written on the wall.
Not in red paint.
May you like
In black ink.
“THE SECOND ONE WAS NEVER ELIAS.”
