Chapter 5: The Search Begins
861 Words
Chapter 5: The Search Begins
The rain fell steadily outside Margaret's cottage as Elena stood frozen in the middle of the living room.
Damien Blackwood.
The stranger standing before her looked as though he had seen a ghost.
His gray eyes never left her face.
Relief.
Shock.
Pain.
Too many emotions swirled inside them.
Yet Elena couldn't remember him.
Not completely.
Only fragments.
Tiny pieces of something broken.
"You're really alive," Damien whispered.
Elena shifted uncomfortably.
"Have we met before?"
The question visibly hurt him.
A bitter smile touched his lips.
"We were supposed to get married."
Silence filled the room.
Elena's eyes widened.
"What?"
Damien pulled a photograph from his wallet.
Her breath caught.
It showed her standing beside him.
She was wearing a white dress.
Smiling brightly.
Happy.
Very happy.
The woman in the photograph was definitely her.
But she couldn't remember taking it.
"I don't understand."
"You disappeared on our wedding day."
His voice was rough.
"Everyone thought you were dead."
The room suddenly felt smaller.
Elena stared at the picture.
Her head began to ache.
A church.
Wedding bells.
A black suit.
Gray eyes.
The images flashed through her mind before disappearing again.
She grabbed the edge of the table for support.
Damien immediately stepped forward.
"Elena."
"I'm fine."
But she wasn't.
Nothing about this situation felt fine.
If what Damien said was true, then she had an entire life she couldn't remember.
An entire future that had been stolen from her.
Before anyone could speak again, the sound of tires crunching against gravel echoed outside.
Damien's expression instantly changed.
His eyes hardened.
"What is it?" Elena asked.
He moved toward the window.
A black SUV had stopped near the cottage.
Three men stepped out.
All dressed in dark clothing.
Damien's jaw tightened.
"Stay inside."
Fear crawled through Elena.
"Who are they?"
"I don't know."
But the look in his eyes suggested otherwise.
The men approached the house.
One of them knocked loudly.
Margaret gasped.
Damien remained calm.
Too calm.
"Lock the back door."
Margaret immediately obeyed.
Another knock echoed through the cottage.
Harder this time.
Elena's heart raced.
The men didn't look like visitors.
They looked like hunters.
And suddenly she realized something terrifying.
They might be looking for her.
Outside, the tallest man spoke.
"We know she's here."
The words drifted through the door.
Damien's face darkened.
Elena felt her stomach twist.
Who were these people?
And why were they searching for her?
The answer arrived before anyone could speak.
A familiar voice came from outside.
A female voice.
Cold.
Cruel.
"I don't have all day."
The moment Elena heard it, a violent headache exploded inside her skull.
Images flooded her mind.
A cliff.
Darkness.
A smiling blonde woman.
Then—
A shove.
A scream.
Falling.
Elena gasped.
Her legs nearly gave out beneath her.
"No..."
Another flash appeared.
The blonde woman standing above her.
Watching.
Smiling.
As she fell.
The memory vanished.
Leaving Elena trembling.
She knew that voice.
Somewhere deep inside her shattered memories, she knew it.
"Elena?"
Damien grabbed her shoulders.
"What happened?"
Her breathing became uneven.
"I remember."
His eyes widened.
"What do you remember?"
"A woman."
The words barely escaped her lips.
"Blonde hair."
A chill spread through Damien's body.
"Who?"
"I don't know."
Elena pressed a hand against her head.
"But she tried to kill me."
The room fell silent.
Outside, the knocking continued.
More aggressive now.
Damien's expression turned dangerous.
Everything he had suspected was becoming reality.
Elena hadn't fallen.
She had been pushed.
Someone had tried to murder her.
And now they had found her again.
Across the room, Margaret looked terrified.
"What do we do?"
Damien didn't hesitate.
"We leave."
"What?"
"They know she's here."
The front door shook violently.
The men were trying to force their way inside.
Elena's heart pounded.
Everything was happening too fast.
She had just discovered she had another life.
A fiancé.
A past.
And now someone wanted her dead.
Again.
Damien grabbed her hand.
His touch felt strangely familiar.
Comforting.
Safe.
"We have to go."
Elena looked into his eyes.
For reasons she couldn't explain, she trusted him.
Even without her memories.
Even without answers.
She trusted him.
A loud crash echoed through the cottage.
The front door had finally given way.
Margaret gasped.
The intruders were inside.
Damien immediately pulled Elena toward the back entrance.
"Hurry."
Rain poured heavily as they ran outside.
Thunder shook the sky.
Behind them came angry shouts.
"They're escaping!"
Elena's pulse raced.
She glanced back.
Three men emerged from the cottage.
Running toward them.
The same feeling from the cliff returned.
The feeling of being hunted.
Damien opened the passenger door of a black luxury car.
"Get in."
She obeyed instantly.
Seconds later, the engine roared to life.
The car sped down the road.
Behind them, another vehicle began to follow.
The chase had begun.
And somewhere inside the pursuing SUV sat a woman with blonde hair and ice-cold eyes.
A woman Elena couldn't fully remember.
A woman who had once called herself her best friend.
A woman determined to finish what she started.
Sophia Sinclair.
And this time, she wasn't planning to fail
- Writer
