CHAPTER FIFTEEN: THE NIGHT ADRIAN DIED
2187 Words
Sarah barely made it home before the first message arrived.
Ask Daniel what happened the night Adrian died.
She stared at it.
Then another appeared.
He wasn’t the only one who lied.
Sarah dropped her phone onto the kitchen counter.
For several minutes, she simply stood there.
Daniel had looked afraid.
Not angry.
Not irritated.
Afraid.
That frightened her more than anything else.
She picked up her phone and called him.
He answered.
“Sarah.”
“Tell me about Adrian.”
Silence.
“You know what I’m asking.”
“Yes.”
“Then answer me.”
“I can’t do this over the phone.”
“Then come here.”
Another silence.
“I’ll be there.”
⸻
Twenty minutes later, Daniel stood outside her apartment.
Sarah opened the door but didn’t invite him inside.
“Talk.”
Daniel looked at her.
“You received another message.”
“Yes.”
“Show me.”
She handed him the phone.
He read it.
His face became unreadable.
“Who sent it?”
“I don’t know.”
“You should have blocked the number.”
“And then what? Pretend none of this is happening?”
Daniel looked at her.
“No.”
“Then tell me the truth.”
He stepped inside.
Sarah closed the door behind him.
“You said Michael made a mistake.”
“Yes.”
“You said Daniel—” She stopped herself. “You said you were blamed for something you didn’t do.”
“Yes.”
“And Adrian died.”
“Yes.”
Sarah folded her arms.
“So tell me what happened.”
Daniel walked toward the window.
For a moment, he said nothing.
Then:
“It was the last week of our final year.”
Sarah waited.
“Michael had been involved in something he shouldn’t have been involved in.”
“What?”
“Money.”
Her eyebrows pulled together.
“Money?”
“His family had influence. They had connections. Michael thought that meant he could fix anything.”
Sarah felt a chill.
“What did he do?”
“He borrowed money from someone dangerous.”
“Why?”
“Because he wanted to prove something.”
“To whom?”
Daniel’s jaw tightened.
“To his father.”
Sarah stared at him.
“What happened?”
“He couldn’t repay it.”
“And Adrian?”
“Adrian found out.”
Sarah’s stomach tightened.
“Did he threaten Michael?”
“No.”
Daniel turned toward her.
“He tried to help him.”
“And you?”
“I tried too.”
“Then what went wrong?”
Daniel’s expression darkened.
“Michael panicked.”
Sarah’s voice softened.
“Why?”
“Because the people he owed weren’t interested in money anymore.”
Silence.
“They wanted information.”
Sarah’s heart began pounding.
“What information?”
Daniel looked away.
“I don’t know.”
“You don’t know?”
“I wasn’t there when it happened.”
“But you were blamed.”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
Daniel’s eyes met hers.
“Because Michael told them I was responsible.”
Sarah’s breath caught.
“He lied?”
“He told them I had arranged the deal.”
“Why would they believe him?”
“Because he gave them evidence.”
Sarah’s face went pale.
“Fake evidence?”
Daniel nodded.
“And the police found it.”
Sarah stared at him.
“What happened to Adrian?”
Daniel’s expression changed.
“He confronted Michael.”
“And?”
“They argued.”
“Where?”
“An abandoned warehouse outside the city.”
Sarah swallowed.
“What happened there?”
Daniel looked down.
“Adrian fell.”
“Fell?”
“From the upper floor.”
Sarah covered her mouth.
“Was he dead?”
“Yes.”
“And Michael?”
Daniel’s voice became almost emotionless.
“He ran.”
Sarah stared at him.
“And you?”
“I arrived afterward.”
Sarah’s heart sank.
“They found you there.”
“Yes.”
“With Adrian.”
“Yes.”
“And Michael was gone.”
“Yes.”
“So they thought you killed him.”
Daniel nodded.
Sarah couldn’t breathe.
“Why didn’t you tell them Michael was there?”
Daniel’s eyes darkened.
“I did.”
“What?”
“I told them.”
“Then why—”
“Because Michael’s family made sure no one believed me.”
Sarah’s eyes widened.
“His family?”
“They had money. Lawyers. Influence.”
“And you?”
“I had nothing.”
Sarah felt tears gather in her eyes.
“You went to the psychiatric facility because they declared you unstable?”
Daniel nodded.
“They called me dangerous.”
“And were you?”
Daniel gave a faint, bitter smile.
“Maybe I became dangerous afterward.”
Sarah looked at him.
“Did you kill Adrian?”
“No.”
The answer came instantly.
“Then who did?”
Daniel stared at her.
“I don’t know.”
Sarah frowned.
“But you just told me—”
“I told you what I remember.”
“What do you mean?”
Daniel stepped closer.
“There are pieces of that night I don’t remember.”
Sarah’s expression changed.
“The psychiatric facility?”
Daniel nodded.
“Trauma. Medication. Years of trying to reconstruct what happened.”
Sarah stared at him.
“Then how can you be sure Michael was responsible?”
Daniel’s face hardened.
“Because I remember enough.”
“But not everything.”
“No.”
A long silence followed.
Sarah’s phone vibrated.
Both of them looked down.
Another unknown message.
This time, there was only one sentence.
Daniel doesn’t remember because someone made sure he wouldn’t.
Sarah looked up.
Daniel had gone completely still.
“Daniel?”
He didn’t answer.
His eyes remained fixed on the screen.
Sarah whispered:
“What does that mean?”
Daniel slowly looked at her.
“I don’t know.”
For the first time since she’d met him, Sarah believed him.
And somehow, that made everything worse.
Because if Daniel didn’t know the whole truth…
then someone else did.
And that person had been watching them all along.
Sarah couldn’t take her eyes off Daniel.
“You really don’t remember?”
Daniel shook his head.
“Not everything.”
“Then what do you remember?”
He looked toward the window.
“Rain.”
Sarah waited.
“A lot of rain.”
His voice was distant, as though he were trying to walk through a memory that refused to open.
“I remember Adrian shouting.”
“What was he saying?”
“I don’t know.”
Daniel closed his eyes.
“I remember Michael’s voice.”
Sarah’s heart tightened.
“What was he saying?”
Daniel opened his eyes.
“‘You shouldn’t have come here.’”
Sarah went still.
“And then?”
“Nothing.”
“You don’t remember the fall?”
“No.”
“The police?”
“No.”
“Then what is the last thing you remember?”
Daniel stared at her.
“Adrian was alive.”
Sarah swallowed.
“And after that?”
“I woke up in the hospital.”
She stared at him.
“What?”
“I had been unconscious.”
“For how long?”
“Three days.”
Sarah’s expression changed.
“And when you woke up?”
“Michael was gone.”
“Did you ask about Adrian?”
Daniel laughed bitterly.
“I already knew.”
“How?”
“They told me.”
“Who?”
“The police.”
Sarah’s stomach twisted.
“They told you he was dead.”
“Yes.”
“And they accused you.”
“Yes.”
“Did Michael ever visit you?”
Daniel’s face hardened.
“Once.”
Sarah’s eyes widened.
“He came to the hospital?”
“Yes.”
“What did he say?”
Daniel looked at her.
“Nothing.”
“Nothing?”
“He stood beside my bed.”
His voice lowered.
“I asked him why.”
“Why what?”
“Why he left me.”
Sarah’s chest tightened.
“And?”
“He walked away.”
Daniel looked down.
“That was the last time I saw him for years.”
Sarah slowly sat down.
“Why didn’t you tell me this before?”
“Because I didn’t want your sympathy.”
“I don’t pity you.”
“I know.”
“Then what do you want?”
Daniel looked at her.
“You already know.”
Sarah shook her head.
“No. I don’t.”
“I want Michael to remember.”
“Remember what?”
“Who he was.”
Silence.
Sarah looked at him carefully.
“You came back for revenge.”
“Yes.”
“You targeted me.”
“Yes.”
“You watched me.”
“Yes.”
“You manipulated our first meeting.”
Daniel didn’t deny it.
“And yet you’re telling me you care about me.”
“I do.”
Sarah’s voice became quiet.
“How am I supposed to believe that?”
Daniel stepped closer.
“You shouldn’t.”
The honesty caught her off guard.
“You shouldn’t believe me,” he continued. “Not completely.”
“Why?”
“Because I’ve lied to you.”
Sarah’s heart sank.
“What else haven’t you told me?”
Daniel looked at her for a long moment.
“There was another person at the warehouse.”
Sarah froze.
“Who?”
“I don’t know.”
“You just said—”
“I remember a voice.”
“Whose?”
“I don’t know.”
“Male or female?”
“Male.”
Sarah’s pulse quickened.
“Could it have been Victor?”
Daniel’s expression changed.
“I don’t know.”
“Who is Victor?”
“I told you. Someone connected to Michael.”
“But you said you didn’t know him.”
“I said I didn’t know him well.”
Sarah stood.
“You keep changing your story.”
“I know.”
“Why?”
“Because every time I remember something, another piece doesn’t fit.”
Sarah stared at him.
Then something occurred to her.
“Daniel.”
“Yes?”
“What if Michael didn’t cause Adrian’s death?”
Daniel went completely still.
Sarah continued.
“What if someone else did?”
His eyes darkened.
“That would mean…”
“You might have spent years hating the wrong person.”
Daniel looked away.
“No.”
“You don’t know that.”
“I know what Michael did.”
“You know what you remember.”
Daniel said nothing.
Sarah stepped closer.
“What if someone manipulated both of you?”
His jaw tightened.
“Stop.”
“Why?”
“Because I’ve spent too many years believing one version of this story.”
“And now?”
He looked at her.
“Now I don’t know what to believe.”
For the first time, Sarah saw something different in Daniel.
Not the confident businessman.
Not the obsessive man who always seemed to have control.
A wounded man who had spent years building his entire identity around a memory he couldn’t fully trust.
Sarah reached toward him.
Her fingers touched his hand.
Daniel looked down.
Then back at her.
Neither moved.
“I’m sorry,” she whispered.
Daniel’s expression softened.
“Don’t be.”
“I am.”
“You shouldn’t be.”
He gently turned her hand over, his thumb brushing across her palm.
Sarah’s breath caught.
The tension between them returned instantly.
But this time, something was different.
There was no manipulation.
No game.
Just two people standing too close to something neither completely understood.
Daniel leaned toward her.
Sarah didn’t move away.
Their lips met softly.
A brief kiss.
Then another.
Sarah pulled back first.
“This doesn’t fix anything.”
“I know.”
“You’re still dangerous.”
“I know.”
“And I’m still married.”
Daniel’s eyes remained on hers.
“I know.”
She swallowed.
“Then why do you keep looking at me like that?”
“Because knowing something is wrong doesn’t always make wanting it disappear.”
Sarah closed her eyes.
She hated how much she understood.
Then her phone vibrated.
She pulled away and looked down.
Another unknown message.
You are getting closer.
Her blood ran cold.
A second message appeared.
Ask Michael about the missing recording.
Sarah looked at Daniel.
“What recording?”
His expression changed.
“I don’t know.”
She stared at him.
“Then we’re going to find it.”
Daniel looked at the message again.
For the first time, something like fear crossed his face.
Because if a recording existed…
it might contain the one thing neither of them remembered.
The truth about what really happened that night.
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