Chapter 8: The Night I Forgot
The words followed me through the chaos.
“They took the only copy that proves you were there that night.””
I stared at my father.
My ears were ringing.
My hands were cold.
There was a part of me that wanted to scream.
Another part wanted to wake up.
Because this couldn’t be my life.
This couldn’t be my wedding day.
People were supposed to cry because they were happy.
Not because they discovered their entire history had been hidden from them.
“What night?”” I asked.
My voice was barely a whisper.
But everyone heard it.
My father looked at me.
“The night Adrian disappeared.””
I shook my head.
“No.””
“Maya—”
“No.””
I stepped backward.
“I was never there.””
Adrian looked at me with sadness.
“You were.””
“I would remember.””
His face tightened.
“That’s what they wanted.””
My heart stopped.
“What does that mean?””
Nobody answered.
My father turned to the officers.
“Find out how they got inside.””
One officer immediately moved toward the chapel doors.
“Sir, there was no forced entry.””
My father’s expression darkened.
“What?””
“No damage. No broken locks.””
The room became quiet.
The file hadn’t been taken by force.
Someone had walked in.
Someone who belonged there.
My father looked around the chapel.
At the guests.
The staff.
The people who had been standing near us.
My stomach twisted.
“Someone here took it.””
Nobody spoke.
The wedding coordinator looked terrified.
Several guests started denying it.
My father raised his hand.
“Everyone stays where they are.””
I looked at him.
“You think one of them did it?””
“I think whoever took that file knew exactly where it was.””
My eyes moved across the room.
And suddenly the chapel I loved felt unfamiliar.
Like a place filled with strangers.
Adrian noticed.
He stepped closer.
“Don’t do that.””
I looked at him.
“Do what?””
“Don’t blame yourself.””
“I’m not.””
“Your face says you’re trying to figure out who you can trust.””
I looked away.
“Maybe I should.””
That hurt him.
But he nodded.
“Maybe you should.””
The honesty surprised me.
My father approached.
“Maya, there’s something you need to understand.””
I looked at him.
“Another thing?””
His expression broke.
“I know.””
He took a breath.
“The night Adrian disappeared, you weren’t supposed to be involved.””
“You already said that.””
“Yes.””
“Then why was I there?””
He looked at Adrian.
Adrian closed his eyes.
“I’ll tell her.””
My father nodded.
Adrian moved toward one of the empty chairs.
He looked exhausted.
Like he had been waiting years for this moment.
“The night everything happened, I was meeting someone.””
“Who?””
“A source.””
“For the investigation?””
“Yes.””
“What did they have?””
Adrian looked at the floor.
“Evidence.””
“Against who?””
He hesitated.
“My own unit.””
The answer stunned me.
“You were investigating your own people?””
“Yes.””
“Why?””
“Because I discovered someone was selling classified information.””
My father nodded.
“Adrian found a pattern.””
Adrian continued.
“People disappeared after reporting suspicious activity.””
My stomach tightened.
“Disappeared?””
“Yes.””
“Like you?””
“Yes.””
I swallowed.
“And my father?””
Adrian looked at him.
“He was assigned to protect me.””
My eyes moved between them.
“So what happened?””
Adrian was silent for a moment.
Then:
“You came there.””
My breath caught.
“Why?””
“I don’t know.””
“You don’t know?””
He shook his head.
“No.””
I stared at him.
“That doesn’t make sense.””
“I know.””
My father spoke quietly.
“Because someone brought you there.””
My eyes widened.
“Who?””
Silence.
Again.
That horrible silence.
My father looked at Daniel.
But Daniel was gone.
I looked around.
“Where is he?””
Nobody answered.
My father’s face hardened.
“He left during the blackout.””
My stomach dropped.
“He took the file?””
“Yes.””
“And he knows what happened?””
“Yes.””
“Then why did he tell me anything?””
My father looked toward the door.
“Because he wanted us to remember.””
The words felt wrong.
“Remember what?””
Adrian looked at me.
“The truth.””
I laughed softly.
“I don’t even remember the lie.””
The room became quiet.
Then Adrian sat across from me.
“Maya.””
I looked at him.
“You asked why you were there.””
“Yes.””
His voice lowered.
“Because you were the only person who saw the person who betrayed us.””
I froze.
“What?””
“You saw their face.””
“No.””
“You did.””
“I would remember that.””
Adrian’s eyes filled with pain.
“You were terrified.””
My heart started pounding.
“I don’t remember.””
“I know.””
“What happened to me?””
Nobody answered.
Then my mother spoke.
Her voice was trembling.
“They made sure you wouldn’t.””
Everyone turned.
My mother covered her mouth.
She looked like she regretted the words immediately.
“Mom?””
She started crying.
“I didn’t want you to remember.””
My body went numb.
“You knew?””
She nodded slowly.
“Maya…”
“You knew?””
“Yes.””
The pain was worse than anger.
Because it was my mother.
The person who held me when I was sick.
The person who knew every scar and every fear.
She had hidden something from me too.
“What did they do to me?””
My mother looked at my father.
Then at Adrian.
Finally, she looked at me.
“They told us you were safer without the memory.””
I felt sick.
“Memory?””
My father stepped forward.
“Maya, listen.””
“No.””
My voice shook.
“No, I want her to answer.””
My mother wiped her tears.
“After that night, you were injured.””
“How?””
“You were caught in the middle of an explosion.””
The chapel disappeared around me.
An explosion.
The word felt familiar.
Not because I remembered it.
Because my body did.
A sudden headache hit me.
I grabbed the side of the chair.
Adrian immediately stood.
“Maya.””
Images flashed.
A dark hallway.
A loud sound.
Someone shouting my name.
A hand reaching for mine.
I gasped.
My father caught me.
“Easy.””
I pushed him away.
“I saw something.””
Everyone froze.
“What?””
I touched my forehead.
“I don’t know.””
Adrian looked at me.
“What did you see?””
I closed my eyes.
“A door.””
My father’s face changed.
“What kind of door?””
“I don’t know.””
“Was there a symbol on it?””
I looked at him.
“How do you know?””
My father went silent.
My heartbeat increased.
“What symbol?””
He didn’t answer.
Adrian did.
“A black bird.””
The room went completely still.
I looked at him.
“How do you know that?””
Adrian looked terrified.
“Because that symbol was on the door where we found you.””
My breathing became uneven.
“You found me?””
“Yes.””
“Who found me?””
My father looked at Adrian.
Then at me.
“Adrian did.””
I stared.
“You?””
He nodded.
“That was the first time I saw you.””
The truth hit me differently.
Not because he knew me before.
Because he had seen me at my most vulnerable.
Broken.
Lost.
Afraid.
And he carried that memory alone.
My father reached into his pocket.
“Maya.””
He pulled out something small.
An old photograph.
My hands shook as he gave it to me.
The picture showed a younger version of me.
Standing beside Adrian.
But not like strangers.
Like people who already knew each other.
I looked at the date.
Seven years ago.
The same night he supposedly died.
My heart stopped.
“That’s impossible.””
Adrian whispered:
“I know.””
I looked at the photograph.
Then at him.
“Why don’t I remember you?””
His eyes filled with tears.
“Because the last thing you said to me before you forgot everything…”
He paused.
And his voice broke.
“You begged me not to let them find you.””
I stared at him.
My hands trembled.
“What?””
Adrian stepped closer.
“You said if anything happened…”
He swallowed.
“You said I was the only person you trusted.””
I looked at my father.
Then my mother.
Then Adrian.
And suddenly the biggest question wasn’t why they lied.
It was something much worse.
Why had I forgotten the one person who saved my life?
My phone suddenly vibrated.
Everyone froze.
Because my phone had no signal inside the chapel.
Slowly, I looked down.
A new message appeared.
From an unknown number.
One sentence.
*ASK YOUR FATHER WHAT HE DID AFTER ADRIAN DIED.*
I looked up.
My father had seen it.
And the expression on his face told me one thing.
He knew exactly what it meant.
May you like
Because whatever happened after Adrian Cole died…
Was the one thing Marcus Reed had never told me.
