Chapter 9 - David woke up strapped to a chair.His head throbbed.

Cold metal against his wrists.

A bright light above him.

Someone stood in front of him.

Mark.

David stared.

"Untie me."

Mark didn't move.

"Mark."

Nothing.

David pulled against the restraints.

"You betrayed me."

Mark's eyes were wet.

"No."

"Then why am I tied up?"

"Because you're dangerous."

David stopped struggling.

"What?"

Mark stepped closer.

"You remembered something."

"What?"

"The attack twelve years ago."

David's heart raced.

Mark continued.

"You weren't investigating the Black Ledger."

"I was."

"No."

Mark shook his head.

"You were trying to destroy it."

David frowned.

"Why?"

"Because you discovered what it really was."

"Tell me."

Mark looked away.

"The Ledger didn't just contain names."

David waited.

"It contained identities."

David stared.

"Explain."

Mark sighed.

"People were being replaced."

"Replaced?"

"Memory conditioning. Identity reconstruction. Financial records. Medical records. Social history."

David's mind flashed.

The photograph.

The procedure.

His fabricated life.

Mark continued.

"You weren't the first Daniel Vale."

David froze.

"What?"

"The original Elias Gray was dead."

David's throat tightened.

Mark whispered:

"You were his replacement."

Silence.

David shook his head.

"No."

"The man named Elias Gray died in the accident."

"Then who am I?"

Mark didn't answer.

David shouted:

"WHO AM I?"

Mark looked at him.

"That's what the Ledger was hiding."

The door opened.

Rebecca walked in.

David stared.

"You're supposed to be in the hospital."

She looked exhausted.

"I left."

"Why?"

"Because I knew where they were taking you."

David glared.

"Untie me."

She did.

David stood.

"Start talking."

Rebecca looked at Mark.

"You told him?"

"Not everything."

"Good."

David slammed his fist against the table.

"No more secrets."

Rebecca nodded.

"Your real name is Elias Gray."

"I know."

"But Elias Gray was never your identity."

David stared.

"You said..."

"I said that's the name they gave you after the accident."

David's jaw tightened.

Rebecca continued.

"The man who died twelve years ago was Daniel Vale."

David went still.

Mark looked down.

Rebecca whispered:

"And you were his partner."

David's mind exploded with fragmented memories.

A woman.

A baby.

A burning house.

James.

Daniel.

Himself.

Rebecca.

He fell backward.

Rebecca caught him.

"David."

He pushed her away.

"Don't call me that."

She froze.

"Then what should I call you?"

David looked at her.

"I don't know."

Rebecca began crying.

"I never lied because I wanted to."

"Why?"

"Because you made me promise."

"What promise?"

"That if you ever remembered, I would tell you the truth."

David stared.

"You knew I'd lose my memory."

"Yes."

"Why?"

"Because you asked me to erase it."

David's face went blank.

"Why would I do that?"

Rebecca whispered:

"Because you killed someone."

David stepped backward.

"Who?"

"James."

The room went silent.

David shook his head.

"No."

"You did."

"No."

"James found the Ledger."

"I saw him alive."

"That was a recording."

David stared at her.

"Then who was in the warehouse with me?"

Rebecca didn't answer.

Mark did.

"That wasn't James."

David's breathing stopped.

"It was his brother."

David lowered his head.

Everything suddenly made sense.

The photographs.

The funeral.

The hidden room.

The identity changes.

The Ledger.

Someone had been controlling his life for years.

And now he knew the biggest secret.

He had not lost his memory because of an accident.

He had lost it because he had chosen to.

But why?

Rebecca placed a photograph on the table.

David picked it up.

It showed him standing in front of a grave.

The gravestone read:

DANIEL VALE.

The date of death was twelve years earlier.

On the back was a note.

YOU BURIED YOURSELF TO PROTECT THE PERSON YOU LOVED.

David looked at Rebecca.

"Who was I protecting?"

Rebecca whispered:

"Your daughter."

Emily.

David's blood went cold.

"What does Emily have to do with any of this?"

Rebecca looked toward the window.

"She wasn't just your daughter."

David stared.

"Then what is she?"

Rebecca answered in a whisper.

"The only person alive who knows where the original Black Ledger is."

The door suddenly opened.

Emily stood there.

Her face was pale.

She looked at David.

Then at Rebecca.

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Then whispered:

"I remember."