Chapter 18: A Memory Worth Dying For
The room was silent long after Nadia left.
Elara sat in front of Declan's wall of screens, staring at her name—Elara Vance—burning on the file still open. She could hear her heartbeat louder than any thoughts. It wasn't just a contract. It was her stolen identity in black and white.
Declan approached quietly. "You okay?"
"No," she said softly. "But I will be."
He handed her a glass of water. "You don't have to carry it alone."
"I know." She looked up. "But I have to face it alone first."
That night, Elara took a risk. She returned to the old mental rehabilitation center—now abandoned—where the crash reports said she was treated after the "accident." She wasn't looking for files. She was chasing a memory.
She walked through crumbling hallways, listening for the echo of herself.
Room 237.
The door creaked open.
Dusty bed. Cracked mirror. A name carved into the wall—"E. Vance."
She touched it, and the world slipped.
Flash. A needle. Voices behind glass. A man whispering, "She's stabilizing."
Flash. Her hands strapped down. A photo of Killian on a table beside her. "Use him. Anchor her."
Flash. Her own voice: "Don't let me forget him. Not him."
She gasped and staggered back.
They hadn't just erased her memories—they'd tried to rewrite them. But Killian… he was the memory she fought to keep. The one piece of herself they couldn't take.
Now, she remembered more than her past.
She remembered why she had to survive.