Chapter 7: The Memory Buried Inside Me
The word hung in the air.
*You.*
One syllable.
One accusation.
And somehow it was heavier than everything that had happened before.
I stared at Victor.
My mind refused to accept it.
“Me?””
My voice came out as a whisper.
Victor smiled.
Not kindly.
Not cruelly.
Like someone watching a puzzle finally come together.
“Yes, Daniel.””
He walked farther into the ballroom.
Every step was calm.
Controlled.
The opposite of the chaos he had created.
“Your father discovered the truth before he died.””
I shook my head.
“No.””
Victor tilted his head.
“You still believe you know what happened.””
I looked at Claire.
She looked terrified.
Not of Victor.
Of what he was saying.
That scared me more.
Because Claire had spent seven years trapped because of secrets.
And now she was hearing something she didn’t expect.
“You’re lying,” I said.
Victor laughed quietly.
“Everyone says that when the truth hurts.””
Robert stepped forward.
“Don’t listen to him.””
Victor looked at him.
“Still protecting him?””
Robert’s jaw tightened.
“You don’t get to walk in here and rewrite history.””
Victor smiled.
“You already helped rewrite it.””
The two men stared at each other.
And I realized something.
Robert wasn’t just afraid of Victor.
He hated him.
“Daniel,” Claire whispered.
I looked at her.
“Do you remember the night I disappeared?””
The question cut through everything.
I looked down.
“I remember enough.””
“No.””
She shook her head.
“You remember what they wanted you to remember.””
My stomach tightened.
“What does that mean?””
Claire stepped closer.
“You were there.””
The room became silent.
“I know I was there.””
“No.””
Her eyes filled with tears.
“You were there when I found the documents.””
I nodded slowly.
“You told me that.””
She shook her head.
“You were there after.””
I froze.
“What?””
Claire looked at me.
“After I confronted Vanessa.””
My breathing changed.
A memory flashed.
A hallway.
A broken glass.
Someone crying.
Then nothing.
I closed my eyes.
A sharp pain moved through my head.
Images.
Fragments.
Not memories.
Pieces.
A door slamming.
A voice shouting my name.
Claire.
Then a man saying:
“Daniel, calm down.””
I opened my eyes.
Victor was watching me.
“You feel it, don’t you?””
I looked at him.
“What did you do to me?””
Victor smiled.
“Nothing.””
He glanced at Robert.
“But someone did.””
Robert went pale.
“No.””
I turned toward him.
“What?””
Robert looked at me.
His face was full of regret.
“Daniel…”
“Tell me.””
He looked away.
“Tell me!””
My voice echoed through the ballroom.
Robert closed his eyes.
“We had to make you forget.””
The words destroyed the room.
Claire covered her mouth.
Lily looked between us.
“Daddy?””
I immediately moved toward her.
“No.””
I knelt down.
“Lily, listen to me.””
But she stepped back.
Not far.
Just enough.
Enough to hurt.
“Did you forget Mommy?””
The question broke me.
“I don’t know.””
And that was the worst answer I could give.
Because it was the truth.
I didn’t know.
Victor watched silently.
Enjoying the damage.
“Your father discovered Victor was manipulating the company,” Robert said.
I looked at him.
“And me?””
Robert swallowed.
“You were the only person who could expose him.””
Victor laughed.
“Not exactly.””
Everyone turned toward him.
He stepped closer.
“Daniel wasn’t just a witness.””
My chest tightened.
“What are you talking about?””
Victor looked at me.
“Your father made you the successor of everything.””
I frowned.
“I was his son.””
“No.””
Victor shook his head.
“You were his insurance.””
The room went quiet.
“He knew if anything happened to him, you would look deeper.””
Victor smiled.
“You had your father’s stubbornness.””
Claire whispered:
“And that’s why they targeted you.””
Victor nodded.
“Exactly.””
I looked at Vanessa.
She was crying now.
Silent tears.
For the first time, she didn’t look like someone trying to defend herself.
She looked broken.
“Vanessa,” I said.
She looked up.
“Tell me your part.””
She wiped her face.
“I met Victor through my father.””
Her voice shook.
“My father owed him money.””
Victor’s expression changed.
A warning.
Vanessa ignored it.
“He used my family.””
She looked at me.
“Then he found out I was close to you.””
My heart sank.
“You got close to me because of him?””
She closed her eyes.
“At first.””
The answer hurt.
Even though I expected it.
“At first?””
Vanessa nodded.
“But then it changed.””
I stared at her.
“When?””
Her tears fell.
“When Lily called me ‘Mommy’ by accident.””
The room went still.
She looked at my daughter.
“I knew it was wrong.””
Lily looked away.
“But I loved her.””
Claire’s expression softened slightly.
Painfully.
Because even after everything, Claire understood love for a child.
“But love didn’t stop you from hurting her,” Claire said.
Vanessa nodded.
“I know.””
No excuse.
No defense.
Just guilt.
Victor suddenly laughed.
“You’re all so emotional.””
He walked toward the center of the room.
“That’s why you were easy to control.””
I looked at him.
“You controlled everyone?””
He smiled.
“Not everyone.””
He looked at me.
“Just the important ones.””
My hands curled into fists.
“What happened that night?””
Victor’s smile faded.
Finally.
The question he didn’t want.
“The night Claire disappeared.””
He looked at Robert.
“Tell him.””
Robert shook his head.
Victor stepped closer.
“Fine.””
He looked at me.
“You and Claire discovered the financial records.””
I nodded.
“You confronted Vanessa.””
Vanessa looked down.
“You planned to expose everyone.””
Victor paused.
“Then you changed your mind.””
I frowned.
“No.””
“Yes.””
Victor’s voice became quieter.
“Because you discovered the person behind the fraud.””
I felt my heartbeat increase.
“Who?””
Victor looked at me.
“You.””
The room went silent.
Again.
I laughed.
But there was no humor.
“You’re insane.””
Victor shook his head.
“Your father discovered it too late.””
Robert interrupted.
“Stop.””
Victor ignored him.
“Daniel, the company wasn’t stolen from.””
He stepped closer.
“You transferred the money yourself.””
My stomach dropped.
“No.””
“You don’t remember.””
“No.””
“You were manipulated.””
My head started hurting.
Images returned.
A computer screen.
My signature.
A conversation.
My own voice saying:
“I’ll handle it.””
I stumbled backward.
Claire grabbed my arm.
“Daniel.””
I looked at her.
“I remember something.””
Her face changed.
“What?””
I pressed my hand against my forehead.
“I signed something.””
Robert looked horrified.
Victor smiled.
“There it is.””
Claire shook her head.
“No.””
She looked at Victor.
“You did this.””
Victor nodded.
“Of course.””
My eyes widened.
“What?””
Victor smiled.
“I needed Daniel to believe he was guilty.””
The room froze.
“You erased his memory.””
Victor nodded.
“And when he woke up, Robert convinced him Claire abandoned him.””
I looked at Robert.
The pain on his face told me it was true.
“Why?””
Robert’s voice broke.
“Because you asked me to.””
Everyone stopped.
I stared at him.
“What?””
Robert looked at me.
“You begged me.””
My heart stopped.
“You said if you remembered what happened, you would destroy yourself.””
I shook my head.
“No.””
“You didn’t know you had been manipulated.””
Robert’s eyes filled.
“You thought you were protecting Claire.””
I looked at Claire.
She was crying.
“What did I do?””
Nobody answered.
Then my phone buzzed again.
Everyone froze.
Another message.
From the same unknown number.
I looked down.
A new video appeared.
One sentence above it.
*You want to know what Daniel did that night? Watch.*
My hand trembled.
Claire grabbed my arm.
“Don’t.””
I looked at her.
“Why?””
Her face was pale.
“Because I watched it seven years ago.””
May you like
A tear fell from her eye.
“And it’s the reason I thought I lost you forever.””
