Chapter 9: The Memory They Stole From Me
For several seconds after the call ended, nobody spoke.
Not Ethan.
Not Richard.
Not me.
The old medical facility seemed to close in around us.
The cracked walls.
The abandoned rooms.
The forgotten records.
Everything felt like it had been waiting for this moment.
Waiting for me to remember.
But I couldn’t.
I tried.
I forced myself to search through my memories.
The night Lucas disappeared.
The hospital.
My mother.
Andrew.
Anything.
There was nothing.
Only darkness.
Only a blank space where a memory should have been.
“I was there?””
My own voice sounded unfamiliar.
Ethan looked at me.
“Ava…”
“I was there?””
He stepped closer.
“I don’t know what she meant.””
But I saw it in his eyes.
He was worried.
Not because he doubted me.
Because he believed it was possible.
Richard looked at me carefully.
“How old were you?””
I turned toward him.
“When?””
“The night Lucas disappeared.””
I frowned.
“Fourteen.””
Richard’s face changed.
“Fourteen.””
“Yes.””
He looked away.
Like he had just confirmed something.
“What?””
Richard didn’t answer.
“Richard.””
His expression was full of guilt.
“Your mother brought you here that night.””
My heart stopped.
“No.””
“Yes.””
“She never told me.””
“Because she was protecting you.””
I shook my head.
“No. That doesn’t make sense.””
My memories were fragments.
My mother driving late at night.
Her hands shaking on the steering wheel.
Her telling me to stay inside the car.
A strange building.
A man shouting.
Then nothing.
A blank wall in my mind.
“What happened to me?””
Nobody answered.
That was the worst part.
They knew.
Everyone knew something except me.
Ethan stepped toward Richard.
“What did Andrew do to her?””
Richard’s expression hardened.
“Not Andrew.””
My stomach dropped.
“Then who?””
Richard looked at Ethan.
“Your father.””
The silence was unbearable.
Ethan’s face changed.
“My father?””
Richard nodded.
“He knew Ava saw something.””
I shook my head.
“I didn’t see anything.””
Richard looked at me.
“You did.””
“No.””
“You saw Lucas being moved.””
My breath caught.
A memory flashed.
A hallway.
A hospital bed.
A young man’s face.
Someone reaching toward me.
Someone saying my name.
I grabbed the wall.
Ethan immediately caught my arm.
“Ava.””
“I remember…”
His eyes met mine.
“What?””
I closed my eyes.
“The hallway.””
The images came faster.
“My mother was crying.””
A pause.
“There was a man.””
“Who?””
I swallowed.
“Lucas.””
Ethan went completely still.
“He was awake.””
The words came out slowly.
“He wasn’t unconscious.””
Richard nodded.
“What else?””
I pressed my fingers against my forehead.
“I don’t know.””
“Try.””
“I can’t.””
The frustration broke through my voice.
“I don’t know why I can’t remember.””
Richard looked at me sadly.
“Because they made sure you wouldn’t.””
The room froze.
“What?””
He looked toward the old medical rooms.
“After that night, your mother took you home.””
“And?””
“And you became sick.””
I stared.
“What?””
“She thought it was shock.””
Richard’s voice lowered.
“But Andrew had access to treatments.””
My blood ran cold.
“No.””
“Ava…”
“No.””
I stepped back.
“You’re saying Andrew erased my memory?””
Richard didn’t answer.
He didn’t need to.
Ethan looked furious.
“He experimented on a child?””
Richard’s silence confirmed it.
The anger on Ethan’s face was terrifying.
Not the anger of a billionaire protecting his reputation.
The anger of someone realizing the people he trusted had destroyed innocent lives.
“My whole life…”
I couldn’t finish.
Ethan looked at me.
“Ava.””
“My mother knew.””
“Yes.””
“She let me forget.””
“She was trying to protect you.””
“But she lied.””
Richard looked down.
“She had no choice.””
I laughed bitterly.
“Everyone keeps saying that.””
My voice shook.
“No choice.””
I looked around.
“Everyone always has a choice.””
Nobody argued.
Because they knew I was right.
A sound came from outside.
A car door.
We all froze.
Ethan immediately turned toward the entrance.
“Stay here.””
I almost laughed.
“No.””
He looked at me.
“Ava.””
“I’m not staying behind anymore.””
A small smile appeared.
Not because it was funny.
Because he knew I was serious.
Together, we moved toward the entrance.
A figure appeared in the doorway.
A man.
Older.
Exhausted.
Holding a small bag.
Ethan raised his guard.
“Lucas.””
The man stopped.
For the first time, I saw him clearly.
Ethan’s brother.
The ghost.
The person who had haunted every corner of Ethan’s life.
Lucas looked at his brother.
And his face broke.
“I’m sorry.””
Ethan didn’t move.
“You’re alive.””
Lucas nodded.
“Yes.””
“You let me believe you were dead.””
“I had to.””
“You had to?””
Lucas looked down.
“If Andrew knew I was alive, people would die.””
Ethan’s expression hardened.
“People already did.””
Lucas closed his eyes.
“I know.””
“You helped him.””
“Yes.””
The answer was immediate.
No excuses.
No lies.
And somehow that made it worse.
Ethan stepped forward.
“Why?””
Lucas looked at me.
Then back at Ethan.
“Because I thought I could control him.””
The same excuse Andrew used.
The same excuse every person who caused harm used.
“I thought I could fix it.””
Ethan shook his head.
“You destroyed lives.””
Lucas nodded.
“I know.””
“Did you destroy Ava’s life too?””
Lucas looked at me.
Pain crossed his face.
“No.””
“Then explain.””
Lucas took a breath.
“Andrew found out Ava’s mother had evidence.””
My heart raced.
“What evidence?””
Lucas looked at me.
“The original patient records.””
Richard went pale.
“You found them?””
Lucas nodded.
“I hid them.””
“Where?””
Lucas looked toward the floor.
“Somewhere Andrew would never look.””
Ethan stepped closer.
“Where?””
Lucas looked at him.
“In the one place he thought was useless.””
A pause.
“Inside the Carter family archives.””
Ethan frowned.
“That’s impossible.””
“No.””
Lucas looked at the folder in Ethan’s hand.
“Because the file you have is fake.””
My blood ran cold.
“What?””
Lucas pointed at the medical file.
“Andrew wanted you to believe Lucas Carter died because of illness.””
Ethan stared.
“But?””
Lucas’s expression darkened.
“The real file shows something else.””
“What?””
Lucas looked at me.
“He wasn’t treating me.””
A terrible silence.
“He was studying me.””
I felt sick.
“Why?””
Lucas answered quietly:
“Because I was the first successful subject.””
Nobody spoke.
Then Ethan’s phone buzzed.
A message.
He opened it.
His face changed.
“What?””
He turned the screen toward us.
It was from Andrew.
A photograph.
Not recent.
Old.
The picture showed me as a teenager.
Standing outside the medical facility.
Beside Lucas.
My heart stopped.
Below the image were words.
*You finally remembered, Ava. Now tell Ethan the last secret.*
Another message appeared.
*Tell him who really opened Lucas Carter’s room that night.*
Ethan looked at me.
I felt the memory returning.
The door.
The room.
My hand on the handle.
My voice.
A single sentence I had forgotten for twelve years.
I whispered:
“I opened the door.””
Everyone froze.
Ethan stared at me.
“What door?””
My eyes filled with tears.
“The room where Lucas was kept.””
A terrible silence.
Then I remembered the final piece.
The thing my mind had buried.
The thing Andrew wanted me to forget.
I looked at Ethan.
“My mother didn’t bring me there to hide.””
My voice broke.
“She brought me there because I was the only person Lucas trusted.””
Ethan’s expression changed.
“Why?””
I looked at Lucas.
And his face told me he already knew.
“Because before Lucas disappeared…”
I whispered:
“He gave me something.””
Ethan stepped closer.
“What?””
I looked at the old facility around us.
The place where everyone lied.
“The evidence that could destroy Andrew.””
A pause.
“And I hid it.””
The lights suddenly went out.
Then Andrew’s voice echoed through the building speakers.
“Good.””
Everyone froze.
His voice was calm.
Almost pleased.
“You finally remembered.””
A cold fear moved through me.
Andrew continued.
“Now bring me what Lucas gave you.””
Ethan looked around.
“Where are you?””
A soft laugh filled the hallway.
Then Andrew answered:
May you like
“Closer than you think.””
And the door behind us slowly opened.
