Chapter 9: The Video Everyone Forgot
The entire restaurant watched the screen.
Nobody spoke.
Nobody moved.
The video quality was terrible.
Old.
Grainy.
But I recognized the place immediately.
My high school.
Graduation night.
My hands became cold.
“That’s impossible,” I whispered.
Emily stood beside me.
“Daniel kept it.””
The video showed students celebrating.
Laughing.
Taking pictures.
Then the camera moved.
And there I was.
Younger.
Eighteen years old.
Standing beside Daniel.
I felt sick seeing my younger self.
So confident.
So unaware.
Daniel’s younger voice came through the speakers.
“Rachel, you understand why this has to happen, right?””
My younger self looked confused.
“What are you talking about?””
Everyone in the restaurant stared.
Including me.
Daniel continued in the video.
“You don’t want to ruin Emily’s life.””
My younger self frowned.
“Why would I ruin her life?””
Daniel stepped closer.
“Because she’s going to blame you.””
I watched myself shake my head.
“That doesn’t make sense.””
Daniel smiled.
“She found out about your father.””
The video paused.
My breath stopped.
People around us looked confused.
My father closed his eyes.
Emily looked heartbroken.
The video continued.
My younger voice said:
“What does my father have to do with this?””
Daniel looked around.
Making sure nobody was listening.
“Your father stole information from my family.””
“That’s not true.””
“You don’t know that.””
I watched myself hesitate.
Because that was the terrifying part.
I remembered that feeling.
The uncertainty.
The fear.
Daniel had made me doubt everything.
The video showed him handing me something.
A folder.
The same folder from the photograph.
He said:
“If Emily releases those documents, your father goes to prison.””
My younger self looked horrified.
“What?””
Daniel nodded.
“She knows.””
“No.””
“She’s using you.””
The video stopped.
A message appeared on the screen.
*Rachel, do you remember now?*
The restaurant remained silent.
I couldn’t look at anyone.
Because I remembered.
Not everything.
But enough.
“I believed him,” I whispered.
My father looked at me.
“You were scared.””
“I believed him.””
Emily reached for my hand.
But I pulled away.
Not because I was angry at her.
Because I was angry at myself.
Daniel’s voice returned.
“You see, Rachel?””
The speakers crackled.
“You helped me destroy Emily.””
Emily looked around.
“Where are you?””
No answer.
Only Daniel’s voice.
“You carried the evidence away.””
My heart stopped.
“What?””
My father stepped forward.
“That’s a lie.””
But Daniel continued.
“You took the documents.””
I shook my head.
“No.””
“You hid them.””
“No.””
“You forgot.””
My breathing became faster.
Because a small memory returned.
A basement.
A box.
A conversation.
My younger self crying.
Saying:
“I don’t want anyone else to get hurt.””
Emily looked at me.
“Rachel?””
I looked at her.
“I remember something.””
“What?””
I grabbed my head.
“The documents…”
Everyone waited.
“I didn’t lose them.””
Emily went still.
“What do you mean?””
I looked at my father.
Then at Emily.
“I hid them.””
My father’s face changed.
“Where?””
I closed my eyes.
And suddenly I remembered the one place I had completely forgotten.
The place where I kept the truth for ten years.
“My house.””
Emily stepped closer.
“Rachel.””
I opened my eyes.
“They’re still there.””
Then my phone buzzed.
A new message appeared.
May you like
From Daniel.
*Thank you for remembering. Now go get them before I do.*
