Chapter 5
1957 Words
CHAPTER FIVE
THE WOMAN WHO KILLED AMARA
The coffin lid closed with a soft click.
Nobody moved.
I stared at it.
My mind refused to process what had just happened.
Rowan had said the woman outside wasn't Amara.
She was the woman who killed her.
But if Amara was never found...
How could he know that?
I turned toward him.
“You're lying.”
He didn't answer.
“You said Amara disappeared.”
“She did.”
“Then how can you say someone killed her?”
His jaw tightened.
“Because I saw it happen.”
The words silenced me.
“You saw it?”
Rowan nodded.
“When?”
“Sixteen years ago.”
My heart began pounding.
“You were there?”
“Yes.”
“Where?”
He looked at my mother.
She was standing near the wall, trembling.
“I wasn't the only one.”
I turned toward her.
“You were there too?”
My mother closed her eyes.
“I was.”
My father suddenly stepped between us.
“That's enough.”
I looked at him.
“No.”
“Liana—”
“No more secrets.”
My voice shook.
“You told me Amara died.”
“You were six.”
“You told me she disappeared.”
“You were too young to understand.”
“You told me I had only one sister.”
He looked away.
“And now I'm finding out you were there when Amara disappeared.”
My mother started crying.
I walked toward her.
“Tell me what happened.”
She shook her head.
“I can't.”
“You can.”
“No.”
“Why?”
“Because if I tell you, they'll come back.”
“Who?”
She looked toward the church doors.
“The people who took her.”
I glanced at Rowan.
He looked troubled.
“You know who they are.”
He nodded.
“Some of them.”
“Then tell me.”
“I can't.”
“Why?”
“Because they're still watching.”
I looked around the church.
Hundreds of people had left.
Only a handful remained.
The security guards stood near the entrance.
Sienna was beside my father.
And yet I suddenly felt as if we were being watched from every corner.
“Where?”
Rowan looked toward the balcony.
“Up there.”
I followed his gaze.
Nothing.
“There's nobody there.”
“There was.”
“How do you know?”
“Because the curtains moved.”
I looked again.
The balcony was empty.
Then my phone vibrated.
Unknown number.
HE'S RIGHT.
Another message.
SOMEONE IS WATCHING YOU.
I looked around.
Another message appeared.
BUT IT ISN'T ROWAN.
I looked at Rowan.
He was watching me.
“Who is messaging you?”
“I don't know.”
“Are you sure?”
“Yes.”
“Then why do they keep mentioning you?”
He didn't answer.
I stepped closer.
“What aren't you telling me?”
Rowan looked at my father.
Then my mother.
Then me.
“Your father wasn't the one who identified the body.”
My father froze.
I turned toward him.
“What?”
Rowan continued.
“He told you he identified the body because he was trying to protect you.”
My father looked at him angrily.
“Stop.”
“No.”
Rowan pulled a photograph from his file.
“This was the original identification record.”
He handed it to me.
I looked at the signature.
My father's name wasn't there.
Instead, someone else had signed it.
DR. ADRIAN VALE.
I frowned.
“Who is Adrian Vale?”
Rowan's expression changed.
“Your brother.”
I stared at him.
“I don't have a brother.”
“You did.”
My mother looked down.
“Where is he?”
“Dead.”
“When?”
“Sixteen years ago.”
My heart raced.
“Another death?”
Rowan nodded.
“The same night Amara disappeared.”
I looked at my mother.
“You lost two children in one night?”
She nodded.
“But nobody told me.”
“You were six.”
“You keep using my age as an excuse.”
She looked at me.
“It wasn't an excuse.”
“Then what was it?”
Her voice broke.
“Protection.”
I laughed bitterly.
“Protection from what?”
She didn't answer.
I looked at Rowan.
“Tell me about Adrian.”
He hesitated.
“He was twenty-one.”
“What did he do?”
“He worked at a private research facility.”
My stomach tightened.
“What kind of research?”
“Memory.”
I stared at him.
“Memory?”
“Yes.”
“Was my family involved?”
Rowan didn't answer.
That was answer enough.
My father finally spoke.
“We didn't know what they were doing.”
“Who?”
“The people who employed him.”
“Who employed him?”
My mother whispered:
“Vale Medical.”
I froze.
“That sounds familiar.”
“It should.”
“Why?”
“Because you've been there.”
My heart stopped.
“When?”
“When you were a child.”
I shook my head.
“No.”
“Yes.”
“I've never been there.”
My mother looked at me.
“You were taken there every week.”
I couldn't breathe.
“Why?”
“To help you remember.”
“Remember what?”
She swallowed.
“Amara.”
The church suddenly felt smaller.
I backed away.
“I don't understand.”
“You had nightmares after she disappeared.”
“What kind?”
“You screamed her name.”
I closed my eyes.
A memory flashed.
A white room.
A bright light.
A woman in a white coat.
A little girl's voice.
“Liana, don't look at the mirror.”
I opened my eyes.
“What was in the room?”
My mother looked frightened.
“A machine.”
“What machine?”
“I don't know.”
“Mom.”
“I never went inside.”
“Then how do you know?”
“Because I saw you afterward.”
“What happened?”
“You forgot things.”
My stomach dropped.
“What things?”
“Your sister.”
I stared at her.
“You're saying someone erased my memories?”
“Yes.”
“Who?”
She looked toward Rowan.
He answered.
“Adrian Vale.”
I froze.
“But you said he died.”
“He did.”
“Then how did he erase my memories?”
Rowan looked at me.
“Because the procedure happened before he died.”
My mind spun.
A dead brother.
A missing sister.
A secret facility.
Memory manipulation.
And me in the middle of it.
I walked toward the coffin.
Rowan grabbed my arm.
“Don't.”
“Why?”
“Because there's something you need to see first.”
He took me through a side door.
We entered a narrow corridor.
At the end was a small room.
He unlocked it.
Inside was a wall covered in photographs.
I stopped.
There were photographs of me.
Hundreds.
At different ages.
Five.
Six.
Seven.
Ten.
Fifteen.
Twenty.
Twenty-five.
I stared.
“Who took these?”
Rowan didn't answer.
I walked closer.
There were dates beneath them.
Some were normal.
Others had strange labels.
SESSION 04.
SESSION 09.
SESSION 17.
FINAL SESSION.
I touched the photograph labelled FINAL SESSION.
It had been taken three days ago.
I was sitting in a chair.
My eyes were closed.
A man stood behind me.
I didn't recognize him.
But Rowan did.
His face changed.
“Who is that?”
He remained silent.
“Rowan.”
He finally whispered:
“Dr. Adrian Vale.”
I stared at the photograph.
“That can't be him.”
“He died sixteen years ago.”
“Then why is he standing behind me three days ago?”
Rowan didn't answer.
I looked at the photograph again.
Something was written on the bottom.
SUBJECT SUCCESSFULLY RESET.
I felt sick.
“Reset?”
Rowan nodded.
“What does that mean?”
“It means someone erased your memories again.”
“Three days ago?”
“Yes.”
“But I remember going home.”
“You weren't at home.”
I looked at him.
“Where was I?”
He pointed to the photograph.
“Here.”
My breathing stopped.
“You're saying I was in that facility three days ago?”
“Yes.”
“Then who was living my life?”
Rowan's silence terrified me.
“Answer me.”
He looked at me.
“Someone who looks exactly like you.”
I remembered the funeral.
The woman in the coffin.
The woman outside.
The photographs.
Three identical faces.
Three necklaces.
Three names.
Liana.
Amara.
Maya.
I whispered:
“How many of me are there?”
Rowan looked away.
“I don't know.”
Suddenly the lights flickered.
Once.
Twice.
Then went out.
A sound came from the room behind us.
A chair scraping across the floor.
Rowan reached for his flashlight.
“Stay behind me.”
I heard footsteps.
Slow.
Deliberate.
Coming closer.
Then a woman's voice whispered from the darkness.
“Liana.”
I froze.
The voice sounded exactly like mine.
“Don't listen to him.”
Rowan turned toward the sound.
“Who are you?”
A figure stepped into the emergency light.
Long dark hair.
My face.
My eyes.
My necklace.
I couldn't move.
She smiled.
“I'm the real Liana.”
Rowan raised his flashlight.
“No.”
She laughed.
“You still don't recognize me?”
I stared at her.
Something about her voice felt familiar.
Then she said something only one person in the world could have known.
“Do you remember the yellow dress?”
My heart stopped.
Amara.
The little girl in my memory.
I took a step toward her.
“Amara?”
She smiled.
“Yes.”
Rowan immediately grabbed my arm.
“Don't go near her.”
She looked at him.
“You're still protecting them.”
“Who?”
She smiled.
“The people who made you forget.”
I stared at her.
“Who am I?”
Her smile disappeared.
“You're not Liana.”
“Then who am I?”
She looked directly into my eyes.
And whispered:
“You're the reason all of us were created.”
My blood ran cold.
“What does that mean?”
Before she could answer, the entire building shook.
A loud alarm began ringing.
Red lights flashed.
The doors automatically locked.
Rowan looked at his phone.
His face went pale.
“What happened?”
He stared at the screen.
Then looked at me.
“The facility has been activated.”
“What facility?”
He swallowed.
“The one underneath this church.”
I stared at him.
“There's a facility under the church?”
The woman who claimed to be Amara smiled.
“No.”
She pointed at the floor beneath us.
“There isn't a facility under the church.”
The alarm suddenly stopped.
Silence.
Then a voice came through the speakers.
A man's voice.
Cold.
Calm.
Impossible.
“Welcome back, Patient Seventeen.”
I looked at Rowan.
His face had lost all colour.
The woman beside me began crying.
And somewhere beneath our feet, something unlocked.
A heavy metal door opened.
Then another.
Then another.
Rowan whispered:
“We have to leave.”
I stared at the floor.
“Why?”
He looked at me.
“Because whoever built this place…”
He swallowed.
“…has been waiting for you to remember.”
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