Chapter 14 - The Missing Years
The lockdown lights continued flashing red.
Somewhere above them, hospital staff rushed through the corridors, unaware that a different battle was unfolding beneath their feet.
Emily finally found her voice.
"Tell me the truth."
Daniel looked exhausted.
"The truth won't make this easier."
"I decide that."
He closed his eyes briefly.
"When I first met you..."
Emily interrupted.
"It wasn't an accident."
"No."
"You already knew who I was."
"Yes."
"You married me because someone ordered you to."
Daniel remained silent.
Emily laughed bitterly.
"Silence is enough."
"But I stayed because I chose to."
She looked away.
"I don't know whether to believe anything anymore."
The woman on the hospital bed slowly reached toward Emily through the glass.
"They erased... years..."
Emily looked back.
"What years?"
"My memories..."
Dr. Hale sighed impatiently.
"She remembers more than expected."
Daniel immediately understood.
"Don't let her continue."
The woman ignored him.
"They erased four years... from you..."
Emily frowned.
"What are you talking about?"
"You think you met Daniel when you were twenty-eight..."
The woman struggled for breath.
"...but you already knew him."
Emily felt her heartbeat stop.
"No."
"You met him... four years earlier..."
Images flashed through Emily's mind.
A rainy street.
Someone handing her an umbrella.
A face she could never remember clearly.
A familiar voice.
A silver watch.
The memories vanished as quickly as they appeared.
She grabbed her head.
"What are you doing to me?"
"No one is doing anything," the woman whispered.
"They couldn't erase everything..."
Dr. Hale suddenly pressed a button on the wall.
The glass between Emily and the observation room turned opaque.
Daniel disappeared behind it.
Only his silhouette remained.
Then Hale quietly said,
"If she's remembering naturally..."
May you like
"...Phase Three has already begun."
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