Chapter 10 - Adrian couldn't move.The girl stood barefoot.
Her hair was dark.
Her eyes were gray.
The same gray as his.
“How old are you?”
The girl said nothing.
Olivia stepped forward.
“Emma.”
Adrian stared at his daughter.
“You know her?”
“We've known her our whole lives.”
“Then why don't I remember her?”
Emma looked at him.
“Because they made you forget.”
Adrian crouched.
“Who?”
Emma pointed toward the ceiling.
“Grandma.”
His blood ran cold.
Adrian stood.
“That's impossible.”
Emma shook her head.
“She made everyone forget.”
“How?”
“She used the doctor.”
“What doctor?”
Emma whispered a name.
“Dr. Nathan Cross.”
Adrian knew it.
The psychiatrist who had treated the girls after Evelyn's death.
The same doctor who told him they would never speak again.
Adrian's face hardened.
“Where is he?”
Emma pointed at a metal box.
Inside was a file.
ADRIAN VALE.
The file contained medical scans.
Brain activity.
Medication records.
A note:
MEMORY SUPPRESSION SUCCESSFUL.
Adrian stared at it.
“They drugged me.”
Elena looked sick.
“For months.”
“Why?”
“Because you remembered Emma.”
“What?”
Elena nodded.
“You had another daughter.”
Adrian's voice broke.
“I have four daughters.”
Emma looked down.
“You did.”
“What happened to her?”
“They told you she died.”
Adrian stared at her.
“But she didn't.”
“No.”
“Where were you?”
“Here.”
“For six years?”
Emma nodded.
“Who kept you?”
Emma's eyes moved toward the door.
Then everyone heard footsteps.
Slow.
Measured.
A cane striking the floor.
Grandmother.
She entered the basement.
Adrian pointed the gun.
“Stay back.”
She smiled.
“You found her.”
“My daughter.”
“Yes.”
“You erased her.”
“I protected her.”
“You lied to me.”
“You would have destroyed the family.”
Adrian laughed bitterly.
“What family?”
“The only one that matters.”
He looked at Emma.
“She was six.”
“She was dangerous.”
“She was a child.”
“She remembered the ledger.”
Adrian froze.
“What?”
Emma stepped forward.
“I saw Grandma kill the banker.”
Grandmother's face changed.
Emma continued.
“And I saw Uncle Marcus burn the documents.”
“And Mom tried to save us.”
Adrian stared.
“You remember everything.”
Emma nodded.
“She couldn't make me forget.”
Grandmother looked at Adrian.
“That is why she had to disappear.”
“Who did you kill?”
“The people who threatened the family.”
“You murdered them.”
“I protected the bloodline.”
Adrian looked at the girls.
“No.”
He aimed at his grandmother.
“This ends tonight.”
She smiled.
“You can't shoot me.”
“Why?”
“Because your daughters are wired to me.”
Adrian froze.
“What?”
She raised a small remote.
On the screen appeared three biometric signals.
Olivia.
Sophie.
Nora.
A fourth.
Emma.
She pressed a button.
All four girls suddenly collapsed.
“NO!”
Adrian lunged.
Elena tackled the grandmother.
The remote hit the floor.
Adrian grabbed it.
He smashed it against the wall.
The signals remained.
A countdown began.
00:59.
00:58.
Adrian panicked.
“How do we stop this?”
Grandmother laughed.
“You can't.”
Elena searched the room.
“There must be an override.”
The girls were unconscious.
Adrian grabbed Emma.
“Wake up.”
Nothing.
“Emma!”
She opened her eyes.
Barely.
“Daddy…”
“What?”
“Under the bed.”
“What bed?”
“The one Mom showed you.”
Adrian looked at Elena.
“There isn't a bed.”
Emma whispered:
“There is.”
A hidden compartment opened.
Inside was a syringe.
A note.
GIVE THIS TO THE GIRL WHO REMEMBERS.
Adrian stared.
“Which girl?”
Emma pointed at herself.
Then smiled.
“I already took it.”
Her heart monitor began screaming.
Adrian's face went white.
May you like
Emma closed her eyes.
The line on the monitor became flat.
