Chapter 13: The Memory Hidden in Another Man
Thomas Vale was the last person I expected to fear.
For ten years, he existed in my mind as a ghost.
The man who carried me from the flames.
The man who disappeared.
The man who left me alone with nothing but broken memories.
Now I had to face a terrifying possibility.
He wasn’t protecting my memories.
He was hiding them.
Adrian drove through the rain without speaking.
Neither did I.
The silence between us felt heavier than any argument.
Finally, I said:
“Do you believe him?””
Adrian kept his eyes on the road.
“I don’t know.””
That answer hurt.
“Everyone keeps saying they don’t know.””
His grip tightened on the steering wheel.
“Because the truth keeps changing.””
I looked out the window.
“My whole life is a lie.””
“No.””
I turned toward him.
“You don’t know that.””
“Yes, I do.””
His voice was calm.
“Someone lied about your identity. Someone stole your inheritance. Someone changed your memories.””
He looked at me.
“But you survived all of it.””
I didn’t know why those words mattered.
But they did.
We found Thomas at a small church outside the city.
Not hiding.
Waiting.
When he saw us, he already knew why we came.
“You know,” he said.
Adrian stepped forward.
“You have her memories.””
Thomas looked at me.
“I have pieces.””
“Give them back.””
Thomas looked away.
“I can’t.””
My heart sank.
“What do you mean?””
“The process was never meant to be reversed.””
Adrian’s expression darkened.
“What process?””
Thomas sat down slowly.
“Project Phoenix wasn’t just about controlling memories.””
He looked at me.
“It was about preserving information.””
“What information?””
“The truth.””
A bitter laugh escaped me.
“Everyone keeps saying that.””
Thomas looked at Adrian.
“Your grandfather discovered a way to hide information inside human memory.””
Adrian frowned.
“That’s impossible.””
“So was surviving a gunshot wound. Yet here you are.””
Adrian ignored the comment.
“Why Wren?””
Thomas looked at me.
“Because Alexander trusted her.””
“I was a child.””
“Yes.””
His voice softened.
“And children remember things adults forget.””
A cold feeling moved through me.
“What did I remember?””
Thomas looked at Adrian.
“Everything.””
The room went quiet.
Then Thomas continued.
“Your father discovered that Richard Kane was planning to take control of both families.””
“The Whitmores and the Kanes.””
“Yes.””
“And Project Phoenix?””
“Was the method.””
I stared.
“They wanted to control powerful people.””
Thomas nodded.
“Politicians. Business leaders. Anyone who threatened them.””
Adrian’s face hardened.
“My family built this.””
“Some of them.””
Thomas looked at him.
“But not you.””
I almost laughed.
“Everyone says that.””
Thomas looked at me seriously.
“Because it’s true.””
Then he reached into his coat.
He removed a small device.
“This is what I protected.””
Adrian immediately moved closer.
“What is that?””
“Your final memory.””
My body went cold.
“My memory?””
Thomas nodded.
“The one they couldn’t erase.””
He handed it to me.
My hands shook.
“Why didn’t you give me this before?””
Thomas looked broken.
“Because the moment you remembered, they would know.””
“Who?””
Thomas looked at Adrian.
“Everyone.””
The device activated.
A light flashed.
Then a voice began.
My voice.
But older.
Not a child.
Me.
“If you’re hearing this, then I finally found him.””
Adrian froze.
I stared at the recording.
My own voice continued.
“Adrian Kane is not the enemy.””
I looked at him.
The recording continued.
“He is the only person who can finish what my father started.””
A wave of confusion hit me.
“How?””
My voice answered.
“Because Richard Kane made one mistake.””
A pause.
“He created someone who could destroy him.””
The recording ended.
Nobody moved.
Then another file appeared.
A location.
A place.
A warehouse address.
Thomas whispered:
“That’s where Alexander hid the original files.””
Adrian looked at the screen.
“Why would he hide them there?””
Thomas answered:
“Because it was the one place Richard would never search.””
“Where?””
Thomas looked at me.
“Under the Whitmore mansion.””
My breath stopped.
The mansion.
The place where everything began.
The place where my family died.
The place where I lost my name.
Adrian looked at me.
“We’re going back.””
I nodded.
But before we left, Thomas grabbed Adrian’s arm.
“Be careful.””
Adrian looked at him.
“Why?””
Thomas’s expression was serious.
“Because the person protecting Richard isn’t Vincent.””
May you like
A pause.
“It’s someone you trust.””
