BENEATH THE PERFECT SMILE

4 THE MAN WHO SHOULD BE DEAD

The tray hit the marble floor with a sharp crash.

Porcelain shattered across the entrance hall.

For several seconds, nobody moved.

Amara stood completely still.

Her eyes were locked on the man standing in front of her.

The scar across his forehead was the first thing she noticed.

Then his eyes.

Those eyes.

She had spent seven years trying to forget them.

But she couldn't.

They were exactly the same.

Jason.

Older. Harder. More distant.

But Jason.

Amara's lips parted, yet no words came out.

Daniel stepped forward.

"Do you two know each other?"

Jason didn't look at him.

His attention remained fixed on Amara.

"She knows me."

Amara finally found her voice.

"You're..."

Her throat tightened.

"...dead."

Jason's expression barely changed.

"That's what everyone was told."

Daniel looked between them, confused.

"Amara?"

She took a step backward.

Jason took one forward.

"Seven years," he said quietly. "That's a long time to pretend someone never existed."

"Don't."

Amara's voice trembled.

Jason stopped.

Daniel frowned.

"Who are you?"

Jason slowly turned toward him.

For the first time, his expression changed.

A faint smile appeared.

"Daniel, right?"

Daniel's eyes narrowed.

"How do you know my name?"

Jason glanced at Amara.

"Ask your fiancée."

Amara's heart pounded.

"Jason, please."

Daniel looked at her.

"Jason?"

The name hung in the air.

Amara could feel the questions forming in his eyes.

Who was Jason?

Why did Amara look terrified?

And why did this supposedly dead man know his name?

Before Daniel could ask anything else, his mother entered the hall.

"What is happening?"

She stopped when she saw Jason.

Her expression immediately changed.

The color drained from her face.

Unlike Daniel, she didn't look confused.

She looked terrified.

Jason noticed.

"Mrs. Williams."

Daniel turned toward his mother.

"Mom?"

His mother stared at Jason as though she had seen a ghost.

"You..."

Her voice was barely audible.

Jason's smile disappeared.

"It's been a long time."

Daniel looked at her.

"You know him too?"

She didn't answer.

"Mom?"

Still nothing.

Jason looked at Amara.

"Interesting."

Amara swallowed.

"What do you want?"

Jason's eyes hardened.

"I wanted to see whether you still remembered me."

"I remember you."

"Do you?"

He stepped closer.

"Because seven years ago, when everyone thought I was gone, you were the last person who saw me."

Daniel's expression changed.

"What does that mean?"

Amara immediately interrupted.

"Jason, not here."

"Why not?"

"Please."

"You're getting married."

Jason looked at Daniel.

"Congratulations."

Daniel didn't respond.

Jason continued.

"She always wanted a perfect wedding."

Amara's hands began shaking.

"Stop."

Jason's voice became quieter.

"Do you remember the blue car?"

Amara froze.

The room seemed to disappear.

Rain.

Darkness.

Headlights.

A voice screaming.

The sound of tires on wet pavement.

Then silence.

Amara squeezed her eyes shut.

"Stop..."

Jason watched her carefully.

"Still having nightmares?"

Daniel moved toward her.

"Amara, what's wrong?"

"I'm fine."

"You don't look fine."

Jason gave a bitter laugh.

"She hasn't changed."

Daniel turned sharply.

"What happened between you two?"

Jason looked at him.

"That's a question you should ask her."

Daniel looked at Amara.

"Amara?"

She couldn't answer.

Jason reached into his jacket.

Amara immediately stepped back.

But he only pulled out a small photograph.

He held it between two fingers.

"This belongs to you."

Amara stared at it.

She recognized the picture instantly.

It was another photograph from seven years ago.

But this one was different.

Jason was standing beside the blue car.

Amara was sitting inside it.

And there was another person in the picture.

Someone standing several feet behind them.

Someone whose face had been deliberately scratched out.

Amara's breathing stopped.

"Where did you get that?"

Jason's eyes remained on her.

"You don't remember?"

"I remember the photograph."

"No."

Jason shook his head.

"You remember what you want to remember."

Amara stared at the damaged face.

Her mind struggled to place it.

Who was that person?

Why couldn't she remember them?

Jason stepped closer.

"That's the problem, Amara."

He lowered the photograph.

"You forgot the wrong things."

Daniel looked at the picture.

"What's happening here?"

Jason finally turned toward him.

"I think you deserve to know."

Amara's eyes widened.

"No!"

Everyone looked at her.

She had shouted without thinking.

Jason smiled faintly.

"Still protecting him."

"Protecting who?"

Daniel demanded.

Jason didn't answer.

Instead, he placed the photograph on a nearby table.

Then he looked at Amara.

"I didn't come back to ruin your wedding."

Amara stared at him.

"Then why are you here?"

"Because someone else is coming."

Her blood ran cold.

"Who?"

Jason's expression became serious.

"The person who knows what really happened that night."

A silence followed.

Daniel stepped closer.

"Jason, enough riddles. If you know something about my fiancée, say it."

Jason looked at him for several seconds.

Then he said something that made Amara's heart stop.

"Your fiancée isn't the person you think she is."

Daniel stared at him.

Amara's face went pale.

Jason turned toward the doorway.

"I'm leaving."

Daniel stepped in front of him.

"You're not going anywhere until you explain."

Jason stopped.

"You really want the truth?"

"Yes."

Jason glanced at Amara.

"Then ask her what happened seven years ago."

Daniel turned toward Amara.

She couldn't meet his eyes.

"Amara?"

Jason walked past him.

At the door, he stopped.

Without turning around, he said:

"One more thing."

Everyone waited.

"The person who sent you that photograph isn't me."

Amara's head snapped up.

"What?"

Jason finally looked back.

"I sent you the first warning."

Amara's eyes widened.

"But I didn't send the photograph."

Daniel looked at the photograph on the table.

"Then who did?"

Jason's face became completely serious.

"I don't know."

He opened the door.

"But whoever did..."

He looked directly at Amara.

"...knows more than both of us."

Then he walked away.

The door closed.

Amara remained frozen.

Daniel slowly turned toward her.

"Amara."

She said nothing.

"Look at me."

She finally raised her eyes.

Daniel's expression had changed.

The warmth was gone.

There was confusion now.

And something worse.

Doubt.

"Who is Jason?"

Amara swallowed.

"He was..."

She stopped.

Daniel waited.

"Your ex?"

Amara shook her head.

"No."

"Then what?"

Tears filled her eyes.

"He was the person I was supposed to marry."

Daniel stared at her.

The silence that followed felt heavier than anything Jason had said.

"You were engaged?"

"No."

"Then what?"

"We planned to."

Daniel took a step backward.

"You never told me."

"I was going to."

"When?"

Amara had no answer.

Daniel laughed quietly, but there was no humor in it.

"We're getting married in a few weeks, Amara."

"I know."

"And you never thought I should know about the man you loved before me?"

"It wasn't like that."

"Then what was it like?"

Amara looked toward the photograph.

"I thought he was dead."

Daniel's expression hardened.

"And now he's standing in my mother's house."

Amara wiped her tears.

"I don't understand."

"Neither do I."

Daniel picked up the photograph.

He stared at the scratched-out face.

"Who is this?"

Amara shook her head.

"I don't know."

Daniel looked at her.

"For once, I need you to tell me the truth."

Amara opened her mouth.

Nothing came out.

Daniel placed the photograph back on the table.

"That's what I thought."

He turned and walked away.

"Daniel..."

He stopped.

But he didn't turn around.

"Not now."

He walked upstairs.

Amara remained alone in the hall.

She looked at the photograph again.

The blue car.

Jason.

Herself.

And the mysterious figure whose face had been destroyed.

Suddenly, another memory flashed through her mind.

A voice.

A man's voice.

Not Jason.

"Amara, if you tell anyone, we'll both regret it."

She gasped.

Her hand went to her mouth.

She remembered that voice.

Not the face.

Not the name.

But the voice.

Her phone suddenly vibrated.

Amara nearly dropped it.

Unknown Number.

A new message appeared.

You finally remembered the voice.

Her blood ran cold.

Another message followed.

Now remember the name.

Amara stared at the screen.

Then another message arrived.

Because Jason isn't the only person who survived that night.

Amara's fingers trembled.

She slowly looked toward the window.

Across the street, a black car was parked.

Its headlights were off.

Someone was sitting inside.

Watching the house.

Watching her.

And this time...

Amara recognized the car.

The blue car from seven years ago.

To be continued...