CHAPTER 5 THE FACE I WAS NEVER SUPPOSED TO REMEMBER
The name left my lips like a confession.
“Eleanor.”
Richard didn't move.
Samuel did.
His eyes widened.
“No.”
I nodded slowly.
“I remember her.”
Richard stared at me as if he were waiting for me to take it back.
“You're saying my mother killed your father?”
“I said I remember seeing her.”
“That isn't the same thing.”
“I know.”
My voice shook.
“But I remember her standing beside his bed.”
Richard's face hardened.
“Tell me exactly what you remember.”
I closed my eyes.
At first, there was nothing.
Then—
A hallway.
White walls.
A fluorescent light flickering above me.
The smell of antiseptic.
A heart monitor beeping somewhere behind a closed door.
My father's voice.
Weak.
Terrified.
“Maya, don't let them take it.”
Then Eleanor's voice.
Cold.
Controlled.
“Where is the key?”
I opened my eyes.
Richard was staring at me.
“What key?”
“The pendant.”
His gaze dropped to the tiny object in Samuel's hand.
“My father had it.”
Richard's expression tightened.
“What happened next?”
“I don't know.”
“Try.”
I pressed my fingers against my temples.
Pain exploded behind my eyes.
Another memory surfaced.
My father lying in a hospital bed.
Eleanor standing beside him.
Dr. Helena Ward near the window.
And a younger Ethan standing outside the room.
Then Miguel entered.
He looked frightened.
Not guilty.
Frightened.
He leaned over my father.
My father whispered something into his ear.
Miguel looked at me.
Then he said:
“You need to leave. Right now.”
I opened my eyes.
Richard's face had gone pale.
“Miguel was trying to save you.”
“Yes.”
“Then why did he stay?”
“I don't know.”
Samuel interrupted.
“He stayed because he was already inside.”
I turned.
“What does that mean?”
Samuel looked at Richard.
“Your ex-husband wasn't just an informant.”
Richard's jaw tightened.
“What was he?”
“A Level 7 operative.”
I stared.
“Miguel worked for them?”
“Initially.”
“What does initially mean?”
“He was recruited because of his corporate strategy background.”
Samuel paused.
“Then he discovered what they were doing.”
“So he turned against them.”
“Yes.”
“And he never told me.”
“He was trying to keep you alive.”
I looked down.
All those nights I'd believed Miguel was cheating.
All those arguments.
All the coldness.
The phone facedown.
The lies.
Maybe I had misunderstood everything.
But one question remained.
“Why did he let me divorce him?”
Samuel looked at me.
“Because he knew someone was watching you through him.”
I felt sick.
“If we stayed married…”
“They could have used you to get to him.”
“So he destroyed our marriage to protect me?”
“Yes.”
I laughed bitterly.
“Then why didn't he tell me?”
Samuel's expression was grim.
“Because if you knew the truth, they could extract it from you.”
“How?”
“Memory manipulation.”
I looked at the pendant.
“You mean they erased parts of my memory.”
“Yes.”
Richard suddenly stood.
“We need to find Miguel.”
Samuel shook his head.
“It's too late.”
“What do you mean?”
“Miguel disappeared three days ago.”
My heart stopped.
“What?”
Samuel looked at me.
“He was investigating the same thing we are.”
“Where is he?”
“No one knows.”
Richard's face darkened.
“Did he contact you?”
“Once.”
“When?”
“The night before he disappeared.”
“What did he say?”
Samuel hesitated.
“He said he had found the person who ordered your father's death.”
My throat tightened.
“Who?”
Samuel looked at Richard.
Then at me.
“He never gave me the name.”
Richard slammed his fist against the table.
“Damn it.”
I stared at him.
“Maybe he left something behind.”
“He did,” Samuel said.
I looked up.
“What?”
“A recording.”
“Where?”
“He told me to give it to you only if you remembered Level 7.”
Samuel reached into a locked cabinet.
He pulled out a small digital recorder.
My hands began shaking.
“Why didn't you give it to me before?”
“Because you hadn't remembered.”
Samuel pressed play.
Static filled the room.
Then Miguel's voice.
I hadn't heard it in weeks.
My heart twisted.
“Maya…”
I closed my eyes.
“If you're hearing this, something has gone wrong.”
His voice was low.
Careful.
“I need you to understand something. Everything I did during our marriage was designed to keep you away from Vitalis.”
A pause.
“I know what you think of me.”
My eyes filled with tears.
“I know you believe I betrayed you.”
Another pause.
“I wanted you to hate me.”
I covered my mouth.
“Because hatred was safer than love.”
Richard looked at me.
The recording continued.
“Four years ago, your father discovered the real purpose of Level 7.”
Static.
“He tried to expose it.”
A breath.
“They stopped him.”
My heart pounded.
“Your father didn't die from the stroke.”
I looked at Richard.
“He was poisoned.”
Silence.
“Slowly.”
My body went numb.
“Someone altered his medication.”
I whispered:
“Eleanor.”
Richard shook his head.
The recording continued.
“Eleanor Vance delivered the medication.”
Richard's face went completely blank.
I stared at him.
“No…”
Miguel's voice continued.
“But she wasn't the one who ordered it.”
I stopped breathing.
“Eleanor was following instructions.”
The recording crackled.
“The person who gave her those instructions was…”
Static.
The recording cut out.
I stared at the device.
“No.”
Samuel hit the controls.
Nothing.
He rewound.
Played it again.
Same result.
The audio ended at the exact same point.
Richard looked at Samuel.
“Can you restore it?”
“Maybe.”
“Do it.”
Samuel nodded.
I couldn't move.
My father's death.
My divorce.
Richard's accident.
Level 7.
Everything was connected.
But one question remained.
Who gave Eleanor the order?
Two hours later, Samuel managed to recover part of the corrupted recording.
The audio returned.
Miguel's voice was faint.
“…the person who gave her the instructions was someone inside the company.”
Static.
“…someone Richard trusted.”
Then another fragment.
“…the board…”
More static.
“…control of the patents…”
I looked at Richard.
“Patents?”
He nodded.
“The neurological technology.”
“What does it do?”
Richard looked toward the floor.
“It can stimulate damaged nerve pathways.”
“So it can help people walk again.”
“Yes.”
“Then why hide it?”
“Because the technology has another capability.”
“What?”
Richard hesitated.
“It can suppress neural activity.”
I frowned.
“How?”
“By interrupting communication between certain areas of the brain.”
My stomach tightened.
“Memory?”
“Among other things.”
I looked at him.
“Someone could use it to erase memories.”
“Not perfectly.”
“But enough.”
“Yes.”
Samuel leaned forward.
“There's more.”
We looked at him.
“The original research wasn't developed by Vitalis.”
Richard frowned.
“Then who developed it?”
“Julian Torres.”
My heart stopped.
“My father?”
Samuel nodded.
“Your father created the original neurological framework.”
Richard stared at him.
“That means Vitalis stole his work.”
“Yes.”
“Why would they need him dead?”
“Because he knew how to reproduce the technology.”
I suddenly understood.
“My father wasn't just a patient.”
“No.”
“He was the inventor.”
“Yes.”
Richard looked stunned.
“What happened to the original research?”
Samuel pointed toward the pendant.
“Your father divided it into three pieces.”
I stared.
“Three?”
“The data.”
“Where are the other two?”
Samuel smiled grimly.
“We've been looking for them for four years.”
“Who has them?”
“We don't know.”
Richard looked at me.
“Maybe you do.”
I shook my head.
“I don't remember.”
“Think.”
I tried.
My father's house.
His study.
Bookshelves.
A wooden desk.
A blue vase.
A photograph.
Then—
I remembered something.
My father had always kept a small metal box beneath his desk.
I told Richard.
His eyes widened.
“Did you ever open it?”
“No.”
“Where is it?”
“After he died, I gave most of his belongings away.”
“To whom?”
I thought.
“Ofelia.”
Richard froze.
“Your mother-in-law?”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“She said my father had valuable antique items.”
Richard looked at Samuel.
Samuel whispered:
“She may have the second key.”
We drove back toward the mansion before dawn.
The sky was beginning to brighten.
But I had never felt more afraid.
Richard sat beside me in the passenger seat.
He had returned to his wheelchair before entering any public area.
I noticed the transformation.
His shoulders slumped.
His expression became vacant.
His legs were positioned carefully.
He looked helpless again.
I finally understood why.
The wheelchair wasn't merely a disguise.
It was armor.
It allowed him to hide in plain sight.
When we reached the estate, the front gate was open.
Richard immediately noticed.
“It should be locked.”
“Maybe Ethan opened it.”
“No.”
“Why?”
“Because Ethan knows I never return before sunrise.”
We drove inside.
The mansion was dark.
No staff.
No security.
No lights.
Richard grabbed my wrist.
“Stay close.”
We entered.
The foyer was empty.
Then we heard a voice.
“Richard?”
Eleanor.
She stood at the top of the staircase.
Her face was pale.
Her left arm was bandaged.
Richard stared at her.
“Mother.”
She looked at me.
Then at the wheelchair.
Then at Richard's legs.
For several seconds, no one spoke.
Finally, she whispered:
“You remembered.”
My heart stopped.
Richard looked at her.
“What did you say?”
Eleanor descended slowly.
“You remembered.”
I stepped forward.
“What do you know about my father?”
She looked at me.
Tears appeared in her eyes.
“I never wanted him to die.”
“But you gave him the poison.”
Her face collapsed.
“Yes.”
Richard's voice was cold.
“Why?”
“Because they threatened Ethan.”
Richard froze.
“What?”
“They had him.”
“Who?”
Eleanor shook her head.
“I don't know.”
“You're lying.”
“I swear I'm not.”
“Who had Ethan?”
“The board.”
Richard stared.
“Which board members?”
Eleanor looked toward the hallway.
“Not here.”
“Then where?”
She pointed upstairs.
“My bedroom.”
Richard moved toward her.
Then—
BANG!
A gunshot echoed through the mansion.
Eleanor collapsed.
I screamed.
Richard caught her before she hit the floor.
Blood spread across her shoulder.
He lowered her gently.
“Mother!”
Her eyes opened.
She looked at me.
“Your father…”
She struggled.
“Your father hid the final piece…”
“Where?”
Her lips moved.
“Where you…”
Then her eyes closed.
Richard looked at me.
“What did she say?”
I shook my head.
“I don't know.”
A second gunshot struck the wall.
Richard grabbed me.
“Down!”
We crawled behind the staircase.
Someone was shooting from the upper balcony.
Richard raised his gun.
“Stay here.”
“You can't go.”
“I have to.”
He moved toward the staircase.
Then I noticed something.
The shooter wasn't aiming at Richard.
He was aiming at me.
“Richard!”
He turned.
I pointed upward.
The shooter fired.
Richard lunged.
The bullet struck the railing.
Wood exploded.
Richard pulled me behind him.
“Run!”
We rushed into the dining room.
The shooter followed.
Footsteps thundered above us.
Richard slammed the door.
“Lock it.”
I did.
He pushed a table against it.
Then he looked at me.
“We need to get to the study.”
“Why?”
“Your father's final piece.”
“How do you know it's there?”
Richard looked toward the wall.
“Because my mother just told us.”
I frowned.
“She said ‘where you…’”
Richard nodded.
“Exactly.”
We ran upstairs.
The mansion was eerily silent again.
When we reached Eleanor's bedroom, Richard opened the door.
Inside, everything looked untouched.
He searched the room.
Drawers.
Closet.
Nightstand.
Nothing.
I looked around.
Then I noticed the painting above the fireplace.
A portrait of Richard's father.
Something about it seemed familiar.
I walked closer.
The frame was loose.
“Richard.”
He came over.
I touched the frame.
It moved.
Richard removed it.
Behind the painting was a small metal compartment.
Inside—
A black envelope.
He opened it.
A handwritten letter.
My father's handwriting.
I knew it immediately.
Richard read the first line.
Then stopped.
“What?”
He handed it to me.
I read:
Maya, if you're reading this, it means they failed to erase everything.
My hands shook.
The letter continued.
There are three people you must never trust.
Below that were three names.
The first was:
Eleanor Vance.
The second:
Ethan Vance.
The third name was one I never expected.
Miguel Torres.
I stared at it.
“No.”
Richard looked at me.
“There has to be an explanation.”
The letter continued.
Do not trust any of them until you discover who controls Nightfall.
Then another sentence.
The person controlling Nightfall is not a Vance.
I turned the page.
Nothing.
Richard looked at the final line.
It read:
The key is inside the woman who remembers nothing.
I stared at the sentence.
“Inside me?”
Richard's face tightened.
“Maybe.”
Suddenly, the bedroom door opened.
We spun around.
Chloe stood there.
Her face was pale.
Her hands were trembling.
“I know where Miguel is.”
Richard raised his gun.
“Don't move.”
Chloe looked at me.
“He's alive.”
My heart stopped.
“Where?”
She swallowed.
“Beneath the old Vitalis research facility.”
Richard stared at her.
“Why would you know that?”
“Because I put him there.”
I froze.
“What?”
Chloe's eyes filled with tears.
“I was trying to protect him.”
Richard stepped forward.
“From whom?”
Chloe looked at me.
“From the man who ordered your father's death.”
“Who?”
She whispered the answer.
“Your ex-mother-in-law.”
I couldn't breathe.
Ofelia.
The woman who had humiliated me.
The woman who had told me I could never survive alone.
The woman who had taken my father's belongings.
The woman who had been standing beside Ethan in those old photographs.
Richard's expression turned cold.
“Where is she?”
Chloe shook her head.
“Gone.”
“Where?”
“She took the final research key.”
My heart dropped.
“Where?”
Chloe looked at me.
“She went to Vitalis.”
Then she whispered:
“And she's taking Miguel with her.”
A phone began ringing somewhere in the mansion.
All three of us froze.
Richard looked toward the hallway.
The ringing continued.
Then a voice came through the intercom.
Ofelia.
Calm.
Almost amused.
“Maya.”
My blood ran cold.
“I knew you would eventually remember.”
A pause.
“Come to Vitalis.”
Her voice became colder.
“If you want your ex-husband alive.”
The intercom clicked off.
Richard looked at me.
I looked back.
The nightmare had just become a rescue mission.
And this time, I wasn't running away.
I was going back to the place where my father had been killed.
To the company that had stolen his work.
To the woman who had spent years trying to keep me powerless.
And to the secret that had been buried inside my own mind.
May you like
The truth was waiting at Vitalis Health.
And so was Ofelia.
