Chapter 6: The Mother I Never Remembered
I didn’t sleep.
I couldn’t.
A dead mother was easier to accept than a living one who might have destroyed my life.
That was the cruel thing about memories.
They didn’t return like a movie.
They returned like broken glass.
A smile.
A voice.
A hand brushing my hair.
Then pain.
Always pain.
Adrian drove me away from the warehouse before Ethan could say anything else.
I watched the city pass through the window.
For the first time in my life, I didn’t know who I was.
“Say something,” I whispered.
Adrian kept his eyes on the road.
“What do you want me to say?””
“The truth.””
He gripped the steering wheel.
“You’re angry.””
“I’m terrified.””
That made him look at me.
“I spent my entire life believing I lost my family.””
My voice cracked.
“Now you’re telling me I don’t even know who my family was.””
Adrian pulled over.
Rain hit the windshield.
“I met your mother eleven years ago.””
I looked at him.
“She was alive?””
“Yes.””
“Where?””
“Hidden.””
“By who?””
He looked away.
“By herself.””
I stared.
“That doesn’t make sense.””
“Your mother was the person who warned me about the people trying to kill you.””
“Then why did Ethan say she ordered the attack?””
“Because Ethan only knows part of the story.””
I hated those words.
Everyone had a part.
Everyone had secrets.
Except me.
I was the only person whose life had been stolen.
“Take me to her.””
Adrian went silent.
Then he said:
“Are you sure?””
“No.””
I looked out at the rain.
“But I need to know why my own mother let me believe she was dead.””
Three hours later, we arrived at a small house near the coast.
Nothing about it looked like a billionaire’s hiding place.
No security.
No guards.
Just an old wooden house surrounded by trees.
Adrian knocked.
The door opened.
And everything inside me stopped.
A woman stood there.
Older.
Tired.
But familiar.
Her eyes were mine.
She whispered:
“Lillian.””
I couldn’t breathe.
My mother touched her face.
Like she couldn’t believe I was real.
“You’re alive.””
I stepped back.
“You knew?””
Tears filled her eyes.
“Yes.””
“Then why didn’t you find me?””
Her expression shattered.
“Because I was trying to keep you alive.””
I laughed.
“By abandoning me?””
“No.””
Her voice broke.
“By making everyone believe you were gone.””
I wanted to hate her.
I wanted to scream.
But then she said something that stopped me.
“I watched you grow up.””
I froze.
“What?””
“I followed your life from a distance.””
My anger returned.
“You watched me live alone?””
“I watched you survive.””
“You could have come to me.””
“No.””
She shook her head.
“Because the moment I came near you, they would have killed you.””
“Who?””
She looked at Adrian.
Then away.
“The Kane family.””
My heart stopped.
I turned toward him.
Adrian’s face changed.
A reaction.
A guilty one.
My mother noticed.
“You didn’t tell her.””
Adrian didn’t speak.
I stepped back.
“Tell me what?””
My mother sat down.
Her hands trembled.
“Your father discovered that the Kane family wasn’t just involved in the company theft.””
She looked at Adrian.
“They built the entire operation.””
“No,” Adrian said quietly.
My mother stared at him.
“You know it’s true.””
I felt sick.
Adrian had saved me.
But what if saving me was only part of his plan?
“What did your family do?”” I asked.
Adrian looked broken.
“My father was involved.””
“Your father?””
“Yes.””
“And you?””
His silence was enough.
My mother closed her eyes.
“Adrian tried to stop them.””
“But he failed.””
“Yes.””
The room went quiet.
Then my mother reached into a drawer.
She pulled out a small envelope.
“I kept this for the day you remembered.””
She handed it to me.
Inside was a letter.
My handwriting.
Except I had never written it.
The paper was dated two weeks before the fire.
The first line made my blood run cold.
*If you are reading this, it means I failed to stop myself.*
I looked at my mother.
“What does this mean?””
She whispered:
“Because the person who destroyed your family…”
Her voice trembled.
“…was not someone else.””
May you like
She looked directly at me.
“It was you.””
