I couldn't move.
Daniel stood at the end of the hallway, exactly as I remembered him from the photograph—except he wasn't a child anymore.
He was a man.
A stranger wearing the face of someone my memories had been desperately trying to return to me.
My heart pounded so hard it hurt.
"Daniel…"
His eyes remained fixed on mine.
"Yes, Lina."
I swallowed.
"You're alive."
A faint smile touched his lips.
"You finally remember me."
"I barely remember anything."
"You remember enough."
Malik suddenly stepped in front of me.
"Stay away from her."
Daniel's expression changed.
For the first time, I saw anger in his eyes.
"You're still doing this?"
Malik didn't answer.
"You're still deciding what she should know?"
Daniel laughed bitterly.
"You haven't changed."
"Neither have you."
I looked between them.
"What is going on?"
Neither answered.
I stepped around Malik.
"Move."
"Lina—"
"Move, Malik."
He hesitated.
Then he stepped aside.
I faced Daniel.
"Tell me what happened."
Daniel stared at me for several seconds.
"You really want to know?"
"Yes."
"You're sure?"
"I've spent my entire life surrounded by people who knew the truth about me while I knew nothing."
My voice shook.
"I want the truth."
Daniel slowly walked toward me.
Malik watched him carefully.
Daniel stopped a few feet away.
"That night," he began, "you weren't supposed to be at that warehouse."
"I know."
"No. You don't."
His voice became softer.
"You were taken there."
My stomach twisted.
"By my father?"
Daniel nodded.
"Why?"
"Because your mother had something he wanted."
"The document."
"Yes."
"What was in it?"
Daniel looked at Malik.
Malik lowered his eyes.
Daniel turned back to me.
"Evidence."
"Evidence of what?"
"Everything."
I frowned.
"Everything?"
"Your father's crimes. Elena's involvement. The people they worked with. Money. Names. Deals."
My chest tightened.
"My mother had proof?"
"She did."
"Then why didn't she go to the police?"
"Because she knew someone inside the police was working for Elena."
I stared at him.
Suddenly, so many things made sense.
The fear.
The secrecy.
The lies.
My mother's constant warnings.
Daniel continued.
"Your father wanted the document. Elena wanted it destroyed."
"And I was there because…"
"Your father knew your mother would come for you."
I felt sick.
"He used me as bait."
"Yes."
Tears slipped down my cheeks.
"My own father…"
Daniel's face softened.
"You were eight, Lina."
I wiped my cheeks angrily.
"What did you do?"
"I followed him."
"Why?"
"Because I knew something was wrong."
He looked away.
"I saw him take you inside."
My breathing stopped.
"I tried to get you out."
"What happened?"
"Someone attacked me."
"Who?"
"Elena's men."
I closed my eyes.
A flash appeared in my mind.
Darkness.
A door.
Someone screaming.
A little boy holding my hand.
Don't be afraid. I'll find you.
I opened my eyes.
"You."
Daniel nodded.
"That was you."
"Yes."
Another memory came.
I was crying.
Someone was dragging me away.
Daniel was shouting.
Then—
A loud bang.
I covered my ears.
"No…"
Malik moved toward me.
"Lina?"
"I remember…"
Daniel didn't move.
"What do you remember?"
"You were bleeding."
His eyes became glassy.
"Yes."
"You were trying to reach me."
"Yes."
"And someone…"
I pressed my hands against my temples.
Someone was standing behind Daniel.
A man.
Then Elena.
Then my father.
Then—
I gasped.
"My mother."
Daniel nodded.
"She came."
"She found me?"
"Yes."
"Then why don't I remember?"
"Because you were unconscious."
I stared at him.
"What happened after?"
Daniel's expression hardened.
"That is the part nobody told you."
"What?"
"I woke up in a hospital three days later."
My heart sank.
"I asked about you."
"And?"
"They told me you were dead."
My eyes widened.
"What?"
"They said you hadn't survived."
"But I did."
"Yes."
"Who told you I was dead?"
Daniel's eyes moved toward Malik.
I turned.
Malik looked away.
"You knew?"
"I found out later."
"You knew Daniel was told I was dead?"
"Yes."
"And you didn't tell me?"
"You didn't remember him."
"That isn't an excuse!"
"I know."
Daniel stepped closer.
"There was another reason."
I looked at him.
"What reason?"
"They wanted me to believe you were dead."
"Who?"
"Elena."
My blood ran cold.
"Why?"
"Because I knew too much."
Daniel reached into his jacket.
He pulled out a small envelope.
"I kept this for years."
He handed it to me.
My hands trembled as I opened it.
Inside was a photograph.
It showed my mother, Elena, my father…
And Daniel.
But there was another person standing beside them.
A woman I didn't recognize.
I stared at her.
"Who is she?"
Daniel didn't answer immediately.
Then he whispered,
"She is the reason your life was erased."
I looked at him.
"What does that mean?"
"She was the person who helped your mother hide you."
My heart raced.
"Then why have I never heard of her?"
"Because she's dead."
Silence.
I looked at the photograph again.
"What's her name?"
Daniel's face became unreadable.
"Grace."
Something inside me shifted.
The name felt familiar.
Not like a stranger.
Like something buried deep inside me.
"Grace…"
A sharp pain suddenly hit my head.
I stumbled.
Malik caught me.
And then I heard a little girl's voice inside my mind.
"Promise me you won't tell Lina."
I froze.
That wasn't my voice.
It wasn't my mother's.
It belonged to someone else.
A child.
I looked at Daniel.
"You heard it too?"
His expression changed.
"Yes."
"What did she say?"
Daniel stared at me.
"She told me not to tell you something."
"What?"
He swallowed.
"That she was the one who caused the accident."
My heart stopped.
"What accident?"
Daniel looked at Malik.
Malik's face had gone completely pale.
"The accident that killed Grace."
I stared at both of them.
"Who caused it?"
Daniel stepped backward.
Before he could answer, a loud crash came from downstairs.
We all turned.
Another crash.
Then footsteps.
Someone was coming toward us.
Malik immediately pulled me behind him.
Daniel reached inside his jacket.
"Someone followed us," he whispered.
My heart hammered.
"Who?"
Daniel looked toward the staircase.
Then he said the words that made my blood run cold.
"Elena."
The lights suddenly went out.
And in the darkness, a woman's voice whispered from downstairs—
"Lina…"
I stopped breathing.
"I've been waiting for you to remember me."