THE DAY YOU FORGOT ME

THR DAY YOU FORGET ME CHAPTER 4

THE DAY YOU FORGOT ME

Chapter Four: The Message Daniel Never Sent

Amara stared at Daniel's message until the screen of her phone went dark.

If I had stayed, you would already be dead.

The words frightened her more than she wanted to admit.

For three years, Daniel had been her home, her best friend, and the person she trusted with the most fragile parts of her heart. He had promised to protect her, yet he had disappeared just three days before their wedding.

Now, he was telling her that his disappearance had saved her life.

How was she supposed to believe him?

She lifted her eyes toward Thomas.

"Did you know Daniel was going to leave me?"

Her uncle looked at her in silence.

"Answer me!"

"I knew he was planning to leave Brooksville," he admitted. "I didn't know he would abandon you without explaining anything."

Amara let out a bitter laugh.

"Everyone seems to know something about my life. Everyone except me."

"Amara, you have to understand—"

"No. You have to understand something. I am tired of being treated like a child who cannot handle the truth."

She held up her phone.

"Daniel says you are dangerous. Lily says you are the reason he left me. You say you are trying to protect me. Which one of you is telling the truth?"

Thomas rubbed his forehead.

"I cannot answer every question tonight."

"Then answer one. What happened to my father?"

His expression changed.

"Your father, David, discovered that the Brooks family had taken property that belonged to your mother's family. He intended to expose them."

"And then he died?"

"Yes."

"How?"

Thomas looked away.

"The official report said it was an accident."

"But you don't believe that."

"No."

Amara felt her stomach tighten.

"Do you think someone killed him?"

"I think there are things about his death that were deliberately hidden."

She stepped backward.

"And you expect me to believe you had nothing to do with it?"

Thomas's eyes filled with pain.

"I know what you think of me. I cannot force you to trust me. But I loved my brother, and I loved your mother. Whatever you have heard about me, I never wanted either of them to suffer."

"Then why did you disappear?"

"Because someone sent me a photograph of you and Lily leaving school. There was a message beneath it."

He paused.

"It said that if I ever tried to return to your family, one of you would pay the price."

Amara felt a chill run through her.

"Who sent it?"

"I don't know. But I believe the same people have started looking for you again."

She wanted to ask more questions, but her phone vibrated.

Daniel had sent another message.

Please, Amara. Meet me tomorrow at six. The old bookstore on King Street. Come alone.

She read it twice.

Then she looked at Thomas.

"I have to go."

"Where?"

"Somewhere you cannot follow me."

"Amara, that is dangerous."

She gave him a tired look.

"So is trusting you."

She walked away before he could answer.

Behind her, Thomas called her name.

She did not turn around.

For the first time in sixteen years, Amara had discovered that the truth about her family was not a single secret waiting to be uncovered.

It was a chain of secrets, each one leading to another.

And somewhere in the middle of it stood the man she still loved.

Daniel Brooks.

---

Amara barely slept that night.

She returned to Grace's apartment shortly after one in the morning and told her everything that had happened at the railway station.

Grace listened without interrupting.

When Amara finished, her friend sat quietly on the edge of the sofa.

"Your uncle says your father may have been murdered," Grace finally said.

"Yes."

"And Lily believes Daniel left because of him."

"Yes."

Grace looked down at her hands.

"This is worse than I thought."

Amara turned toward her.

"What do you mean?"

Grace immediately shook her head.

"Nothing. I just mean that we need to be careful."

Amara studied her face.

"Grace, I need you to promise me something."

"What?"

"If you know anything else about Daniel, Lily, or my family, you will tell me."

Grace's eyes filled with tears.

"I promise."

Amara wanted to ask why her friend looked so frightened, but exhaustion had begun to overwhelm her.

She rested her head against the sofa and closed her eyes.

For a few minutes, she remembered the life she had imagined only days earlier.

A small house with white curtains.

Daniel making breakfast on Sunday mornings.

Lily visiting them without knocking.

Children running through the garden.

A future in which she no longer had to worry about losing the people she loved.

She had once believed that love was enough to build a life.

Now she wondered whether love could survive when it was surrounded by lies.

---

At five forty-five the following evening, Amara stood outside the old bookstore on King Street.

The shop had been there for decades. Its wooden sign was faded, and the windows were crowded with books that nobody seemed interested in buying anymore.

It was the place where she had first met Daniel.

She remembered that day clearly.

She had been searching for a book her mother used to read to her when she was little. She had reached for a copy on the highest shelf when another hand reached for it at the same time.

"Sorry," a deep voice had said.

She had turned around and found herself looking into a pair of warm brown eyes.

Daniel had smiled.

"You can have it."

Amara had laughed.

"That's very generous of you, considering you reached for it first."

"I believe in making sacrifices for beautiful strangers."

She had rolled her eyes.

"That line probably works on everyone."

"Not everyone."

"How many women have you tried it on?"

He had pretended to think.

"Should I tell you the truth or the version that makes me look better?"

She had laughed so hard that the shopkeeper had asked them to keep their voices down.

They had spent the next hour talking about books, family, and their favorite childhood memories.

When Amara left the shop, Daniel asked for her number.

She refused.

He asked again.

She refused again.

Finally, he wrote his own number on a piece of paper and handed it to her.

"You don't have to call me," he said. "But if you ever find a book worth discussing, I would love to hear about it."

She kept that piece of paper for months before finally calling him.

Now, standing outside the same bookstore, she wondered whether the man she had met that afternoon had known who she was all along.

At six o'clock, a black car stopped across the street.

Daniel stepped out.

He looked thinner than she remembered, and his hair was slightly longer. His face carried a tiredness that had not been there before.

But his eyes were the same.

The moment he saw her, he stopped walking.

For several seconds, they simply stared at each other.

Then Daniel crossed the street.

"Amara."

Her name sounded different in his voice now.

It was softer, almost painful.

She folded her arms.

"You asked me to come. I'm here. Talk."

Daniel looked at her as though he wanted to reach for her hand but was afraid she would pull away.

"How have you been?"

She laughed without humor.

"How do you think I've been?"

He lowered his eyes.

"I'm sorry."

"Stop saying that."

He looked up.

"What?"

"Every person who has lied to me says they are sorry. Your mother said it. My sister's silence said it. My uncle said it. And now you are standing here saying the same thing."

Her voice trembled.

"I don't need another apology, Daniel. I need the truth."

He nodded slowly.

"You're right."

"Did you know who I was when we met?"

He did not answer.

Amara felt her heart sink.

"Daniel."

"Yes."

The word was quiet, but it shattered something inside her.

"You knew?"

"I knew your surname. I knew your mother had once been connected to my family. But I didn't know the full story."

"And you still asked me to marry you?"

"Yes."

"Why?"

He looked at her with tears in his eyes.

"Because I fell in love with you."

She shook her head.

"How can I believe that?"

"You don't have to believe me today."

"Did you ever plan to tell me?"

"Yes."

"When? After the wedding? After we had children? After I had spent my entire life believing a lie?"

Daniel closed his eyes.

"I was afraid."

"Of what?"

"Of losing you."

Amara stared at him.

"So you decided to lose me first?"

He had no answer.

A tear rolled down her cheek, and she quickly wiped it away.

"I trusted you with everything, Daniel."

"I know."

"No, you don't. You don't know what it feels like to finally believe that someone will stay, only to discover that they were hiding an entire part of your life from you."

Daniel's voice broke.

"Amara, loving you was the only thing in my life that ever felt real."

She looked away.

For one dangerous moment, she wanted to believe him.

She wanted to step into his arms and pretend the past few days had never happened.

But she remembered the wedding dress hanging in her wardrobe.

She remembered the unanswered calls.

She remembered the letter telling her to forget him.

"Then why did you leave?"

Daniel reached into his coat and removed a folded envelope.

"I received this three nights before our wedding."

He handed it to her.

Amara opened it.

Inside was a photograph of herself leaving a hospital with Lily. Beneath the photograph was a message.

Cancel the wedding, disappear from Brooksville, and never contact Amara again.

If you refuse, she will learn what happened to David Williams.

A second page contained a copy of an old medical report.

Amara's hands began to tremble.

"What is this?"

Daniel looked at the report.

"After your father died, someone changed parts of the official records. I discovered evidence that your family had been deliberately misled about his death."

"Who changed them?"

"I don't know. But whoever sent me those documents knew where you lived, where you worked, and when you would be alone."

Amara looked at the photograph again.

"They threatened you."

"They threatened you."

"And you thought leaving me would protect me?"

Daniel nodded.

"I thought if I disappeared, they would have no reason to hurt you."

Amara felt tears gathering in her eyes.

"You should have trusted me enough to tell me."

"I know."

"You should have given me the chance to decide whether I wanted to face the danger with you."

"I know, Amara."

"Instead, you broke my heart and left me wondering what was wrong with me."

Daniel looked as though every word had struck him.

"There was nothing wrong with you. There never was."

She pressed the envelope against her chest.

"Why didn't you come back?"

His expression changed.

"Because the threats continued. And because I discovered something else."

"What?"

Daniel hesitated.

"Three months before our wedding, I found out that my father had arranged a marriage for me."

Amara stared at him.

"With Victoria?"

He nodded.

"Her family owns part of the company my father built. The marriage was supposed to settle a business dispute and bring two families together."

"And you agreed?"

"No."

"But you knew about it."

"I knew my father wanted it. I never agreed to marry her."

Amara remembered the photograph at the airport.

"Then why were you holding her hand?"

Daniel looked away.

"Because that night, I was trying to stop her from doing something terrible."

"What?"

"She told me she knew where Lily was."

Amara's heart began to pound.

"Where is my sister?"

"I don't know."

"You expect me to believe that?"

"I am telling you the truth."

"Then why didn't you call the police?"

"Because Victoria threatened to give them documents that would make your uncle look responsible for David's death. She said that if the police became involved, Lily would disappear before anyone could find her."

Amara felt sick.

"So you left with her?"

"I left the airport before midnight. I never went with her."

"Then why didn't you tell me any of this?"

"Because I believed the people threatening you were watching every move I made. I needed to find out who was behind the messages before I could safely contact you."

Amara shook her head.

"Do you understand that you have made it almost impossible for me to trust you again?"

Daniel's eyes filled with tears.

"Yes."

He paused.

"But I will spend the rest of my life trying to earn that trust, even if you never love me again."

For a moment, neither spoke.

Then Amara asked the question that had been haunting her since the night he disappeared.

"Did you ever stop loving me?"

Daniel looked at her.

"No."

His answer came without hesitation.

"I tried. I told myself that if I stayed away long enough, you would forget me. I told myself that seeing you happy with someone else would be easier than watching you suffer because of me."

He swallowed.

"But every morning, I woke up wanting to call you. Every night, I wondered whether you were safe. And every time I passed a bookstore, I remembered the first time you laughed at one of my terrible jokes."

His voice broke.

"I never stopped loving you, Amara. I just convinced myself that you would be safer if you hated me."

She looked down, unable to answer.

She had spent days believing that she had been abandoned because she was not enough.

Now she was learning that the man she loved had made a decision for her without giving her a choice.

His intentions might have been good.

The pain was still real.

"I can't forgive you today," she whispered.

Daniel nodded.

"I understand."

"And I won't promise that I will ever forgive you."

"I understand that too."

She took a step backward.

"But if you truly want to help me, you will tell me everything you know about my father's death."

Daniel reached into his pocket and handed her a small silver key.

"Your mother kept a locked box in a storage unit outside the city. I found the key among my father's papers."

Amara looked at it.

"Why didn't you give it to me before?"

"Because I didn't know what was inside. I was afraid it contained something that could put you in danger."

She closed her fingers around the key.

"Where is the storage unit?"

"At the old warehouse district, near the river. Unit 214."

Amara placed the key inside her handbag.

"Thank you."

Daniel looked at her sadly.

"Amara, there is one more thing."

She stopped.

"What?"

He took a deep breath.

"The night before I disappeared, I received a voice message from your mother."

Amara felt her entire body go still.

"My mother died four years ago."

"I know."

"How could you receive a message from her?"

"Your mother recorded it before she died. Someone sent it to me anonymously."

"What did she say?"

Daniel looked directly into her eyes.

"She said that if I truly loved you, I must never let you marry me until you knew the truth about your birth."

Amara stared at him.

"My birth?"

He nodded.

"I haven't listened to the entire recording. I only heard the first few seconds before the file became corrupted."

"What were her exact words?"

Daniel took out his phone and played the recording.

A woman's voice filled the air.

Amara recognized it instantly.

Her mother's voice.

Soft, tired, and unmistakable.

"Daniel, if you are listening to this, then I have failed to protect my daughter. Please, whatever happens, do not let Amara marry you until she knows that the man she calls her father is not the only person who has a claim to her life."

The recording ended.

Amara covered her mouth.

She felt as though she had lost her mother all over again.

Before Daniel could say anything, her phone vibrated.

A new message.

Unknown number.

You should never have met him.

Another message appeared.

Now both of you will pay for what your families did.

Then a photograph arrived.

It showed Grace standing outside a hospital, holding hands with a man in a dark coat.

Amara zoomed in.

The man was Thomas Williams.

But that was not what frightened her most.

On the back of the photograph, someone had written:

Ask your best friend what she promised your mother on her final night.

Amara slowly lowered the phone.

Daniel saw her expression.

"What happened?"

She handed him the screen.

He stared at the photograph, and all the color disappeared from his face.

"Amara," he whispered, "we need to leave. Now."

"Why?"

Daniel looked toward the street.

"Because I recognize that man."

"Who is he?"

Daniel took her hand.

For the first time since their separation, she did not immediately pull away.

He looked at her with fear in his eyes.

"That is not your uncle Thomas."

Amara felt the world tilt beneath her feet.

"What do you mean?"

Daniel opened his mouth to answer.

But before he could speak, a black car screeched to a stop beside them.

The rear door opened.

A woman stepped out.

She wore a cream-colored coat, and a diamond ring glittered on her finger.

Amara recognized her from the airport photograph.

Victoria.

The woman who looked nothing like a stranger to Daniel.

Victoria smiled at Amara.

"Finally," she said. "I've been waiting years to meet you."

Then she turned toward Daniel.

"Hello, darling."

Daniel stepped in front of Amara.

"Stay away from her."

Victoria laughed softly.

"Oh, Daniel. You still don't understand, do you?"

She reached into her handbag and removed a sealed envelope.

"Your little love story was never the real problem."

She held the envelope out to Amara.

"The problem is that your mother made a terrible mistake when you were born."

Amara stared at the envelope.

Victoria leaned closer and whispered:

"Because the man who raised you was never your biological father."

Amara felt her knees weaken.

Victoria's smile widened.

"And the man who is your real father has been looking for you for twenty-four years."

END OF CHAPTER FOUR

Coming Next: Chapter Five — The Father I Never Knew