Chapter 10 - THE MEMORY HIDDEN FOR TEN YEARS
Emily Carter had always believed memories were permanent.
A person could lose a phone.
A house.
A relationship.
But memories?
Those belonged to you.
Until that night.
Until she stood inside the Kingston mansion holding a photograph of herself at fourteen, standing beside Noah and Victor Kingston.
A moment she didn’t remember.
A moment everyone else seemed desperate to hide.
“You were there.”
The words on the back of the photo repeated in her mind.
You were there that night.
Emily looked at Alexander.
“Tell me the truth.”
He didn’t answer.
That scared her more than anything.
“Alexander.”
His jaw tightened.
“I don’t know everything.”
She laughed bitterly.
“That’s convenient.”
His eyes moved to hers.
“I’m not lying.”
“Then why do you look like you know exactly what happened?”
Silence.
Because he did know something.
Something he had never told her.
Emily stepped closer.
“My brother disappeared.”
Her voice shook.
“My life fell apart.”
She held up the photograph.
“And somehow I was connected to your family the entire time?”
Alexander looked away.
That was the answer.
Emily felt betrayed.
Not because he knew.
Because she thought he was different.
“You knew.”
“I suspected.”
“When?”
“A few days ago.”
She stared at him.
“A few days ago?”
Alexander stepped forward.
“Emily, listen.”
“No.”
Her voice became stronger.
“For once, you listen.”
The room went quiet.
“I spent ten years wondering if Noah left because he didn’t care.”
Her eyes filled.
“I thought maybe I wasn’t enough for him to stay.”
Alexander’s expression softened.
“But now I find out everyone around me knew pieces of the truth except me.”
She shook her head.
“I don’t know who to believe anymore.”
Before Alexander could answer, his mother moved between them.
She grabbed Emily’s hands.
Her signing was quick.
Emotional.
Emily watched carefully.
Then she translated quietly.
“She says Noah loved you more than anything.”
Emily froze.
Alexander’s mother continued.
“She says he made one promise.”
Emily looked at her.
“What promise?”
The woman’s eyes filled with tears.
“To keep you alive.”
A cold silence filled the room.
Emily whispered:
“Alive?”
Alexander looked at her.
“That’s the part nobody told you.”
Suddenly, the mansion security system activated.
A warning flashed across every screen.
INTRUDER DETECTED.
The guards rushed through the hallway.
Alexander immediately grabbed Emily’s hand.
“Move.”
She looked surprised.
“You’re holding my hand?”
He looked at her.
“Because I’m making sure you don’t disappear too.”
For one second, everything stopped.
Then a gunshot shattered the window.
Glass exploded across the room.
Alexander pulled Emily down behind the couch.
His body covered hers.
The sound of footsteps echoed outside.
Someone had entered the mansion.
Someone who wasn’t afraid of Alexander Kingston.
And when the attacker left behind a message carved into the wall, Emily realized the truth.
This was never about revenge.
It was a warning.
May you like
A warning meant only for her.
THE GIRL WHO FORGOT WILL REMEMBER.
