For several seconds, I couldn't understand what Malik had said.
I simply stared at him.
The night you were assassinated.
The words repeated inside my head.
Once.
Twice.
Again and again.
"I was… what?"
Malik looked away.
My heart began pounding.
"You said I was assassinated."
Nobody moved.
Dominic lowered his head.
Adrian's face became hard.
"Malik," Adrian said quietly.
But I couldn't take my eyes off him.
"Explain."
Malik swallowed.
"You weren't supposed to remember."
"Remember what?"
"That night."
"What night?"
He stepped toward me.
I stepped backward.
"No."
"Lina—"
"Don't come closer."
He stopped.
My eyes burned.
"You told me we met months ago."
"I lied."
"You told me you had never known me before."
"I lied."
"You told me you loved me because you met me and fell in love with me."
His eyes filled with pain.
"That part was never a lie."
I shook my head.
"Then what was?"
"Almost everything else."
I felt something inside me break.
I had trusted this man.
Loved him.
Built memories around him.
And now he was telling me that the foundation of everything I believed was a lie.
"Who am I?" I whispered.
Malik stared at me.
"You're Lina."
"No."
My voice became stronger.
"Who am I really?"
Silence.
Then Dominic spoke.
"You were Lina before the night everything changed."
I turned toward him.
"And after?"
He hesitated.
"After that night, you were given another identity."
My chest tightened.
"Why?"
"Because someone wanted you dead."
I looked at Adrian.
"And you?"
He didn't answer.
"You knew too?"
"Yes."
The word hit me harder than anything else.
"You all knew."
Nobody denied it.
I laughed, but there was no humor in it.
"So while I was falling in love with Malik, all three of you were standing around me knowing something about my life that I didn't?"
Adrian's voice softened.
"We were trying to protect you."
"Protect me?"
I pointed toward myself.
"From the truth?"
"From the people who wanted you dead," he replied.
"And how did that work?"
He said nothing.
I wiped my eyes.
"I can't believe any of you."
Malik stepped forward.
"Lina, please."
"Don't."
"You need to hear me."
"I've heard enough."
"No."
His voice cracked.
"You haven't."
He reached into his pocket.
Then he pulled out a small silver pendant.
I froze.
I knew it.
It was the matching pendant to my bracelet.
My fingers instinctively touched the bracelet on my wrist.
"Where did you get that?"
"You gave it to me."
I stared at him.
"I never gave you anything."
"You did."
"When?"
"The night before you disappeared."
My breathing stopped.
"What happened that night?"
Malik looked at Dominic.
Then Adrian.
Finally, he looked at me.
"You were running."
"From who?"
"Your father."
The room became silent.
"My father?"
"Yes."
I felt dizzy.
"But my father…"
I stopped.
There were pieces of my childhood I had always struggled to remember.
A house.
A man.
A woman screaming.
A car.
Rain.
Then darkness.
I pressed my fingers against my temple.
Pain exploded behind my eyes.
Suddenly—
A flash.
I was running.
I was younger.
Much younger.
Someone was holding my hand.
A boy.
I couldn't see his face.
"Keep running!"
His voice sounded familiar.
"Don't let go!"
I was crying.
Someone was chasing us.
Then I saw a car.
Headlights.
A loud horn.
The boy pushed me.
I fell.
And then—
Nothing.
I opened my eyes.
I was back in the classroom.
Malik was holding my shoulders.
"Lina!"
I pushed him away.
"You were there."
"Yes."
"You were the boy."
His eyes filled with tears.
"Yes."
My heart shattered.
"How old were you?"
"Fourteen."
"And I was?"
"Eight."
I stared at him.
Eight.
I had been eight years old.
That explained the strange memory.
But it raised a thousand more questions.
"What happened after?"
Malik looked down.
"You disappeared."
"And you?"
"I searched for you."
"For how long?"
"Years."
My voice trembled.
"Why?"
"Because I promised you I would find you."
The memory returned.
Don't be afraid. I'll find you.
I covered my mouth.
"That was you."
"Yes."
I began crying.
Not because I remembered everything.
But because I suddenly realized how much of my life had been hidden from me.
"What happened to me?"
Dominic answered.
"You were attacked."
"By whom?"
"We never found out."
"You're lying."
"No."
"Then why did you say I was assassinated?"
"Because someone tried to kill you."
"Did they succeed?"
Malik shook his head.
"You survived."
I looked at him.
"Then why don't I remember?"
Adrian finally spoke.
"Because after the attack, your memories became fragmented."
"Did you erase them?"
"No."
"Did you make me forget?"
"No."
"Then who did?"
Adrian's eyes darkened.
"Your mother."
My heart stopped.
"My mother?"
"She believed forgetting was the only way to keep you alive."
I slowly sat down.
Everything was becoming too much.
My mother had known.
Malik had known.
Dominic had known.
Adrian had known.
Everyone had known.
Except me.
Then something occurred to me.
"If you knew me when I was eight…"
I looked at Malik.
"How did you find me again?"
He hesitated.
"I didn't."
My stomach dropped.
"What?"
"You found me."
I frowned.
"What are you talking about?"
"The first time you saw me months ago, you didn't know who I was."
"But you knew me."
"Yes."
"Then why didn't you tell me?"
"Because I promised your mother."
I stared at him.
"A promise?"
"She made me swear that I would never reveal your past unless you remembered it yourself."
"And you agreed?"
"I had no choice."
"You always had a choice!"
My voice echoed through the room.
Malik flinched.
I immediately regretted shouting, but the pain inside me was too deep.
"I loved you," I whispered.
"I know."
"I trusted you."
"I know."
"And you watched me fall in love with you while knowing that you had already been part of my life."
"I never wanted to hurt you."
"But you did."
He closed his eyes.
A tear rolled down his cheek.
"I know."
Nobody spoke.
Then my phone vibrated.
All four of us looked at it.
Unknown number.
I slowly picked it up.
One message.
NOW YOU REMEMBER.
My blood turned cold.
Another message arrived.
BUT YOU STILL DON'T REMEMBER WHO KILLED YOU.
I stared at the screen.
Then another message appeared.
ASK ADRIAN WHAT HE DID THAT NIGHT.
I slowly lifted my head.
Adrian was staring at me.
For the first time since I'd known him…
he looked terrified.