"Lina!"
Malik pulled me backward.
But I couldn't move.
The smoke was slowly clearing from the corridor, and through it, I saw a figure standing several meters away.
I couldn't see the person's face clearly.
But I knew that voice.
I had heard it before.
Not at school.
Not at the warehouse.
Not in my dreams.
Somewhere much closer.
Somewhere I had always felt safe.
"Lina, move!" Malik shouted.
The figure stepped forward.
My heart slammed against my ribs.
"Who are you?" I asked.
The person didn't answer.
Instead, they turned and disappeared through the smoke.
Malik grabbed my hand again.
"We have to go."
"What about Adrian and Dominic?"
"They're behind us."
"We can't leave them!"
"We're not."
We ran down the corridor.
My lungs burned.
Students were screaming somewhere downstairs. Teachers were rushing out of classrooms. Nobody seemed to understand what was happening.
When we reached the main entrance, Dominic appeared.
His shirt was torn, and there was a small cut above his eyebrow.
"Where's Adrian?" Malik asked.
"Coming."
A few seconds later, Adrian emerged from the building.
He looked toward the road.
"They're gone."
I stared at him.
"Who?"
"The attackers."
"Did you see their faces?"
"No."
I swallowed.
"I did."
All three men looked at me.
"You saw someone?"
I nodded.
"I couldn't see their face."
"Then how do you know who it was?" Dominic asked.
I looked at him.
"Because I recognized the voice."
Malik's expression became serious.
"Whose voice?"
I hesitated.
"I don't know."
That wasn't completely true.
I knew.
I just wasn't ready to say it.
We went to Dominic's apartment because none of us felt safe returning to my house.
I sat on the couch while Adrian cleaned the cut on Dominic's forehead.
Malik stood near the window.
Nobody spoke.
Finally, I broke the silence.
"I want the truth."
Malik turned.
"You'll get it."
"No more pieces."
I looked at each of them.
"No more 'I can't tell you.' No more 'you're not ready.' No more protecting me by lying."
Adrian slowly sat down.
"You're right."
"Then start."
Dominic looked at Malik.
Malik nodded.
"The night you were attacked, there were four people involved."
"Four?"
"Yes."
"Who?"
"We knew three of them."
"And the fourth?"
"We never discovered who they were."
I frowned.
"What happened?"
Malik took a breath.
"You were eight years old. Your mother had discovered something she wasn't supposed to know."
"What?"
"Money."
I stared at him.
"Money?"
"A lot of it. Money connected to powerful people."
Dominic continued.
"Your mother tried to expose them."
"And they wanted her dead?"
"They wanted everyone who knew about it gone."
I looked down at my hands.
"So they came after me because of her?"
"Yes."
"But why me?"
Malik's voice became quiet.
"Because you saw something."
"What?"
"You saw one of their faces."
I froze.
"What did I see?"
"We don't know."
"You don't know?"
"You were too young. You were terrified. Your memory became fragmented after the attack."
I closed my eyes.
The flashes returned.
Rain.
Headlights.
A hand gripping mine.
Someone shouting.
Then darkness.
I opened my eyes.
"There was someone."
Malik came closer.
"Who?"
"I don't know."
"What did they look like?"
"I can't remember."
Adrian leaned forward.
"Don't force it."
I looked at him.
"Why?"
"Because forcing a traumatic memory can make it worse."
I stared at him.
"You really do know everything about me."
"No."
He shook his head.
"I know what your mother told me."
"What did she tell you?"
"That you were innocent."
My eyes filled with tears.
"Then why did she hide everything?"
"Because she was afraid."
"Of what?"
"Losing you again."
I looked away.
For years, I had believed my mother simply didn't understand me.
Now I wondered how much of her distance had been fear.
Then I remembered the voice.
My heart tightened.
"There was someone else."
Everyone became silent.
"At the warehouse," I said. "Before the attack. Someone called my name."
Malik's eyes narrowed.
"Who?"
"I don't know."
"Lina."
"I said I don't know."
He stopped.
I rubbed my temples.
"But the voice…"
I looked toward the window.
"I know that voice."
My phone suddenly rang.
I nearly dropped it.
Unknown number.
Everyone stared.
"Don't answer," Adrian said.
I looked at him.
"I need to know who it is."
"Lina—"
I answered.
"Hello?"
Nothing.
I could hear breathing.
Then a whisper.
"You should have stayed forgotten."
My blood ran cold.
"Who are you?"
"You're asking questions again."
"Tell me who you are!"
A soft laugh came through the phone.
"You really don't remember me?"
I couldn't breathe.
"Who are you?"
"I was there that night."
My hands shook.
"Where?"
"The night you died."
I closed my eyes.
"Tell me your name."
The caller laughed again.
Then said something that shattered me.
"Ask your mother."
The call ended.
I lowered the phone.
Malik immediately came toward me.
"What did they say?"
I looked at him.
"They told me to ask my mother."
Adrian's expression changed.
Dominic stood abruptly.
"No."
I looked at him.
"What?"
"We can't go there."
"Why?"
"Because if they know where she is—"
"They already know."
Silence.
I stood.
"I want to see my mother."
Malik stepped in front of me.
"It's dangerous."
"So is everything else!"
"You don't understand."
"No, Malik. I understand perfectly."
Tears slipped down my cheeks.
"Everybody has been making decisions about my life without me."
He stared at me.
"I won't let you walk into danger."
"You don't get to decide that anymore."
His face fell.
I walked past him.
Then Adrian spoke.
"I'm coming with you."
I stopped.
Malik immediately looked at him.
"No."
Adrian's voice was firm.
"She needs answers."
"And you think you're the one who should give them?"
"No."
He looked at me.
"Her mother should."
We drove in silence.
Dominic stayed behind to investigate the attack.
Malik drove.
Adrian sat beside him.
I sat in the back seat, staring through the window.
My mind was filled with questions.
What had my mother hidden?
Who had attacked me?
Why had Malik searched for me?
Why had Adrian protected me?
And most importantly—
Who was the fourth person?
We finally arrived at my mother's house.
The lights were off.
I frowned.
"She should be home."
Malik parked.
Adrian immediately noticed something.
"Don't get out."
"Why?"
"The front door is open."
My heart dropped.
We stepped out carefully.
Malik went first.
Adrian followed.
I stayed between them.
The house was silent.
"Mom?"
No answer.
I walked into the living room.
A chair had been overturned.
A glass was shattered on the floor.
"Mom?"
Then I saw it.
A photograph.
It had fallen from the wall.
I picked it up.
My hands began shaking.
It was the same photograph.
Malik.
Dominic.
Adrian.
And me as a child.
But this time, I noticed something I hadn't seen before.
Someone had written a name on the back.
One name.
A name I knew.
A name I had trusted.
My breath caught.
Malik looked over my shoulder.
His face went pale.
"What?"
I slowly turned the photograph around.
"It's her."
"Who?"
I couldn't answer.
Because suddenly, the voice from the phone came back to me.
You really don't remember me?
And I realized why it had sounded so familiar.
It belonged to the woman who had been beside me for years.
My mother wasn't the only person who knew my past.
My best friend did too.