CHAPTER 2
2146 Words
THE THINGS HE FORGOT
Derek stayed by the window long after the black car disappeared from the street. His reflection stared back at him from the glass. For the first time since waking up, he allowed himself to think about what had happened without trying to convince himself that it was a dream. Someone knew. Someone had been watching him.
And whoever had taken that photograph had known exactly where he was and what he was doing. Derek stepped away from the window and returned to his desk. He picked up his phone and looked at the message again.
You are changing things already.
There was something about those words that bothered him. The sender hadn't threatened him directly. They hadn't told him to stop investigating or warned him to stay away from his family. They had simply told him that they were watching. It felt less like a threat and more like a warning. Derek sat down and rubbed his temples.
He needed to think. In his first life, he had spent years believing that his father's death was an accident. His father had suffered what everyone called a sudden heart attack, and because Derek had been devastated by the loss, he had never questioned the circumstances. Now he wondered how many things he had accepted simply because someone had told him to believe them.
His father's death had happened three years ago. Three years before Derek's own death, and according to what he remembered, the first unusual thing had happened just two days before his father had died. His father had called him into his studies. Derek could still remember the conversation. He had been sitting behind the large wooden desk, looking tired.
“Derek,” his father had said.
“There are things about this family you need to understand.”
At the time, Derek had barely been listening. He had been distracted by a message from Victoria. His father had noticed.
“You're going to marry Victoria soon,” Derek had smiled.
“Yes.” His father had stared at him for a moment.
“Do you trust her?” Derek laughed.
“Of course I do.” His father hadn't smiled.
“That's not what I asked.” Derek had thought about it for a moment.
Then he had answered without hesitation.
“Yes.”
His father had leaned back in his chair.
“Then I hope you're right.”
Those had been his final words.
Two days later, he was dead.
Derek had spent three years convincing himself that the conversation meant nothing.Now he knew better.A knock at the door interrupted his thoughts. Derek looked up.
“Come in.” His mother entered. She was carrying a tray with breakfast.
“You haven't eaten.” Derek glanced at the tray.
“I'm not hungry.”
“You need to eat something.” She placed the tray on the table and looked at him carefully.
“Are you sure you're feeling all right?”
“Yes.”
“You were acting strangely this morning.”
Derek smiled.
“Maybe I was just tired.”
His mother sat down opposite him.
“You frightened Victoria.”
Derek's expression didn't change.
“Did she say that?”
“She said you asked her some strange questions.”
“Like what?”
His mother hesitated.
“She said you asked whether she loved you.”
Derek looked at her.
“And what did she tell you?”
“She said she didn't understand why you would ask something like that.”
Derek lowered his eyes.
Of course, she didn't understand.
How could she?
Victoria, sitting downstairs, had no idea that Derek had already lived through the day she would betray him.
His mother reached across the table.
“Derek, whatever is bothering you, you can talk to me.”
He looked at her hand.
In his first life, he would have taken it.
This time, he didn't.
Instead, he smiled.
“I know, Mom.”
She watched him for several seconds.
Then her phone rang.
She glanced at the screen.
Derek noticed the change immediately.
Her expression became tense.
She stood.
“I need to take this.”
She walked toward the door.
Derek waited until she was almost outside.
“Mom.”
She stopped.
“Who called?”
She looked over her shoulder.
“Your uncle.”
Derek nodded.
“Why?”
“He wants to discuss some business matters.”
“What kind of business?”
His mother smiled.
“Nothing you need to worry about.”
Then she left.
Derek waited until the door closed.
His expression hardened.
In his first life, he would have believed her.
Not anymore.
He got up and followed her.
The hallway was empty.
Derek walked quietly toward his father's old study.
He stopped when he heard voices.
His mother's voice came first.
“I told you he's fine.”
A man's voice answered.
“You're sure?”
“Yes.”
“He remembers nothing?”
Derek froze.
His mother's voice became quieter.
“He's confused. That's all.”
The man said something Derek couldn't hear.
Then his mother replied,
“We cannot afford to make the same mistake again.”
Derek's heart skipped.
The same mistake?
What did she mean?
He moved closer.
The floor creaked beneath his foot.
The voices stopped.
Derek immediately stepped away from the door.
A few seconds later, it opened.
His mother stepped out.
She looked surprised to see him.
“Derek?”
He forced a smile.
“I was looking for you.”
“What do you need?”
“I wanted to ask about Dad's studies.”
Her expression changed.
“Why?”
“I was thinking about him.”
His mother looked away.
“It's been years, Derek.”
“I know.”
He glanced toward the study.
“Can I go inside?”
“No.”
The answer came too quickly.
Derek noticed.
“Why not?”
“Because there's nothing in there for you.”
He stared at her.
“I think I'll decide that myself.”
His mother stepped in front of the door.
“Derek, please.”
Something in her voice made him stop.
She wasn't angry.
She was afraid.
“What's in there?” he asked.
“Nothing.”
“Then why won't you let me inside?”
She didn't answer.
Derek watched her carefully.
Then he smiled.
“It's okay.”
He turned away.
“I won't go in.”
His mother relaxed slightly.
That was exactly what Derek wanted.
He had no intention of giving up.
Later that afternoon, Derek returned to the family office.
He had spent most of the morning thinking about his father's study and the conversation he had overheard.There was something hidden there. He just didn't know what. The office was busy when he arrived. Employees greeted him as he walked through the lobby, and several people congratulated him on his upcoming marriage.
Derek returned their smiles, but his mind was elsewhere.
He entered his father's old office and closed the door.
His father's photograph sat on the desk.
Derek picked it up.
“I should have listened to you.”
He remembered the warning now.
Not every word.
But enough.
His father had known that something was wrong.
The question was whether he had known who was responsible.
Derek opened one of the desk drawers.
Empty.
He opened another.
Nothing.
He searched through several files but found only old business documents.
Then he noticed something unusual.
One drawer was locked.
Derek frowned.
He searched the desk for a key.
Nothing.
He tried the handle again.
Locked.
He was about to look elsewhere when someone knocked.
Derek quickly stepped away.
“Come in.”
The door opened.
Clara Sinclair stood there.
For a moment, Derek forgot what he was doing.
He hadn't expected to see her so soon.
She looked exactly as he remembered.
The same dark hair.
The same quiet expression.
The same eyes that had looked at him with tears the night she died.
Clara seemed surprised by his reaction.
“Are you okay?”
Derek swallowed.
“Yes.”
She held out an envelope.
“You asked me to bring this.”
Derek looked at the envelope.
“I did?”
Clara nodded.
“You sent me a message yesterday.”
She handed it to him.
Derek opened it.
Inside was a short, handwritten note.
Clara, I need you to find out everything you can about my father's death. Don't tell anyone. Especially Victoria.
Derek stared at the handwriting.
It was his.
But he didn't remember writing it.
Clara watched his face.
“You really don't remember sending it?”
“No.”
She frowned.
“That's strange.”
“Why?”
“Because you sounded very serious.”
Derek put the note on the desk.
“What exactly did I ask you to find?”
Clara hesitated.
“You asked me to look into the people your father worked with before he died.”
“Who?”
“I don't know yet.”
“Then why did you agree?”
“Because you asked me.”
Derek looked at her.
There was no hesitation in her answer.
He remembered how she had looked at him in his final moments.
She had been terrified.
Yet she had still come for him.
“Clara.”
“Yes?”
“Did you know I was going to die?”
Her face went completely still.
“What?”
“In my first life”He stopped himself.
Clara stared at him.
“What did you just say?”
Derek realized his mistake.
“Nothing.”
She stepped closer.
“You said ‘in my first life.’”
Derek's heart began beating faster.
“I mean you're not the same.” He said nothing.
Clara's eyes searched his face.
“Something happened to you.”
Derek looked away.
“I'm fine.”
“No.”
Her voice was quiet.
“You're not.”
Before Derek could answer, his phone rang.
He looked at the screen.
Unknown number.
Clara noticed.
“Are you going to answer?”
Derek didn't.
The phone stopped ringing.
A second later, a message appeared.
Derek opened it.
His expression changed.
There was a photograph.
It showed Clara standing outside the Luke family office.
But the photograph wasn't recent.
It was old.
Very old.
Clara was much younger.
Standing beside her was Derek's father.
And behind them stood the same unknown man Derek had seen in the photograph she had brought him.
Derek looked at Clara.
“Who is that man?”
Clara's face lost all its color.
“I don't know.”
“You're lying.”
She looked at him.
“I've never seen him before.”
Derek turned the phone toward her.
“Then why is he standing beside your father?”
Clara stared at the photograph.
For several seconds, she didn't speak.
Then she whispered,
“My father told me never to ask about him.”
Derek felt a chill run through him.
“Why?”
“I don't know.”
“Clara.”
She looked at him.
“I really don't know.”
Derek studied her face.
For the first time, he realized something.
Clara wasn't hiding the truth because she didn't trust him.
She was hiding it because she was afraid.
Before Derek could ask another question, the lights in the office suddenly went out.
Clara gasped.
The room went completely dark.
“Stay here,” Derek said.
He reached for his phone.
The screen lit up the room for a moment.
Then Clara grabbed his arm.
“Derek.”
“What?”
“There was someone outside.”
He turned toward the window.
A shadow moved behind the glass.
Derek ran toward it.
By the time he reached the window, there was nobody there.
He looked down.
The street was almost empty.
Then his phone vibrated again.
Another message.
This time there were only four words.
Ask Clara about her father.
Derek slowly turned around.
Clara was standing behind him.
Her face had gone pale.
She looked at the message.
Then she looked at Derek.
“Who is sending these?”
“I don't know.”
Clara took a step backward.
Derek watched her carefully.
“Clara.”
She shook her head.
“I think I know.”
“Who?”
She looked toward the closed office door.
Her voice dropped to a whisper.
“The man who killed your father.”
Derek stared at her.
And suddenly, the mystery surrounding his first death became much larger than he had ever imagined.
Because if Clara was telling the truth, the person responsible for his father's death had been watching his family long before Derek ever died.
And now that Derek had returned, that person was watching him too.
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