NOW ASK YOUR MOTHER WHY.
I stared at the message until the words blurred.
Why?
That question had followed me for years.
Why had my father disappeared?
Why had my memories been erased?
Why did Adrian know things about me that I didn’t remember?
Why did my mother lie?
And now there was a new question.
Why had Adrian and I known each other before we were supposed to?
I turned toward my father.
—Where is my mother?
Daniel’s expression changed.
—Sophia— —Where is she?
He looked at the theater doors.
—She went to Blackwood Manor.
Adrian immediately stiffened.
—Why?
—Because she knew this was coming.
I frowned.
—What does that mean?
Daniel took a breath.
—Your mother has been trying to find something for the last six years.
—What?
—The original Project Echo records.
I looked at the screens surrounding us.
—But you said the organization had them.
—They did.
—Then why hasn’t anyone found them?
Daniel looked at me.
—Because Elena hid them.
Adrian stepped forward.
—Where?
Daniel hesitated.
—Inside the place where everything started.
I waited.
—Where?
He answered quietly.
—Westbridge.
My stomach tightened.
Of course.
The university.
The place where I’d met Adrian.
The place where we’d found the underground chamber.
The place where my memories had begun returning.
It suddenly felt less like coincidence.
More like a trap that had been waiting for us.
—We’re going back.
Adrian nodded.
Daniel caught his arm.
—Not yet.
Adrian looked at him.
—Why?
—Because you don’t remember everything either.
Adrian’s expression hardened.
—Then tell me.
Daniel shook his head.
—If I tell you, the memory may come back wrong.
—What does that mean?
—It means your mind may fill in the missing pieces.
I looked at Daniel.
—Just like mine.
He nodded.
—Exactly.
The girl stepped toward us.
—He’s afraid.
Daniel looked at her.
—You shouldn’t be here.
She smiled.
—Neither should you.
For the first time, I saw my father look genuinely frightened of her.
—What do you know?
—he asked.
She tilted her head.
—Everything she forgot.
Then she looked at me.
—Including the first time she met Adrian.
I felt my chest tighten.
—Show me.
Adrian looked at me.
—Sophia, wait.
—No.
I shook my head.
—I’ve spent six years being told what I can and can’t remember.
I looked at my father.
—I’m done.
The girl extended her hand.
I hesitated.
Then I took it.
The theater disappeared.
I was somewhere else.
A hospital corridor.
White walls.
Bright lights.
I was seven years old.
Adrian was standing beside me.
He looked younger than I’d ever seen him.
His hair was messy.
His school jacket was too large.
And he was holding something.
A small silver thread.
I stared at him.
—Are you lost?
Young Adrian smiled.
—No.
—Then why are you here?
He looked toward a hospital room.
—Because someone I care about is inside.
—Who?
He pointed at me.
I frowned.
—Me?
He nodded.
—You.
My younger self looked confused.
—But I don’t know you.
Adrian smiled.
—You will.
The memory shifted.
A woman walked toward us.
My mother.
She looked younger.
She knelt beside me.
—Sophia, sweetheart.
I looked at her.
—Who is he?
My mother glanced at Adrian.
Her expression became complicated.
—His name is Adrian.
—Is he my friend?
My mother didn’t answer.
Adrian did.
—Yes.
My mother looked at him sharply.
—You shouldn’t have told her.
—She already remembers me.
My mother went pale.
I looked between them.
—Remember?
Adrian crouched in front of me.
—Do you remember the garden?
I nodded.
—And the blue door?
Another nod.
—And the promise?
I smiled.
—You said you’d come back.
Adrian smiled too.
My mother covered her mouth.
The memory blurred.
Then another scene appeared.
Clara was arguing with my mother.
—They can’t keep doing this.
—We don’t have a choice.
—There’s always a choice.
—Not when they’re watching her.
Clara slammed a file onto the table.
—Then stop helping them.
My mother looked at the file.
—You think I want this?
—Wanting isn’t enough, Elena.
My mother started crying.
—If I leave, they’ll take Sophia.
Clara’s expression softened.
—Then we protect her.
—How?
Clara looked toward the window.
—By making them believe she has nothing left to remember.
The scene changed.
A room.
Machines.
A chair.
My mother stood beside it.
Evelyn was there too.
Daniel stood behind them.
And Adrian stood near the door.
He looked terrified.
My younger self sat in the chair.
I felt something tighten in my chest.
The memory continued.
Evelyn spoke.
—Once we begin, she won’t remember any of this.
My mother shook her head.
—Not everything.
Daniel looked at her.
—Elena.
—She needs one memory.
—Which one?
My mother looked at Adrian.
He stepped closer.
—Our first meeting.
Daniel immediately shook his head.
—No.
My mother stared at him.
—Why?
—Because if she remembers Adrian, they’ll find her through him.
Adrian looked at my mother.
—Then erase me.
She froze.
—What?
—Erase her memory of me.
He swallowed.
—But leave mine.
Daniel stepped forward.
—Adrian— —She deserves to have someone remember her.
My heart broke.
Even though it wasn’t my memory.
It felt like mine.
Adrian looked at my younger self.
—I’ll remember for both of us.
My mother began crying.
Then she activated the machine.
The memory shattered.
I opened my eyes.
I was back in the theater.
Adrian was holding my shoulders.
—Sophia?
I couldn’t speak.
He looked terrified.
—What did you see?
I looked at him.
—You.
He went still.
—What?
—You asked my mother to erase me from your memory.
His face changed.
—No.
—You told her to erase me from mine.
He stepped back.
—No.
The girl interrupted.
—Yes.
Adrian turned toward her.
—You weren’t there.
—Neither were you.
He froze.
She continued: —Not in the way you think.
I looked at her.
—What does that mean?
She pointed toward Adrian.
—The Adrian you remember isn’t the whole Adrian.
He frowned.
—What are you talking about?
She smiled.
—Your memories were divided too.
The room became silent.
Adrian looked at Daniel.
—Did you know?
Daniel nodded slowly.
—Yes.
Adrian’s voice became cold.
—How long?
—Since that night.
Adrian turned away.
I stepped closer.
—Why would they divide your memories?
Daniel answered.
—Because Adrian remembered the location of the original archive.
Adrian looked at him.
—And you erased it?
—We had to.
—Who is “we”?
Daniel didn’t answer.
I did.
—My mother.
Daniel looked at me.
—Elena.
I shook my head.
—No.
Everyone went quiet.
I suddenly understood something.
The messages.
The photographs.
The conflicting stories.
The claims that Elena founded the organization.
The claim that Evelyn created the memory system.
The Blackwoods.
Clara.
They weren’t all talking about the same thing.
—There were different groups.
Daniel nodded.
—Finally.
I stared at him.
—The organization wasn’t created by one person.
—No.
—It was divided.
—Yes.
He pointed toward the screen.
—The Blackwoods funded the original network.
He pointed toward the memory system.
—Elena, Clara and Evelyn developed Project Echo.
Then he looked at Adrian.
—And Victor’s family controlled the people who used it.
My stomach dropped.
—So when the message said my mother founded the organization…
Daniel shook his head.
—It was technically true only if someone was deliberately mixing the two histories.
I whispered: —Someone wanted me to blame her.
—Yes.
Adrian looked at the girl.
—Who?
She didn’t answer.
Instead, every screen in the theater suddenly went black.
A single image appeared.
Blackwood Manor.
Then another.
The underground chamber.
Then another.
A photograph of my mother.
And finally— me.
Standing beside Adrian.
But this photograph was different.
It wasn’t old.
It had been taken recently.
I stared.
—That’s impossible.
Adrian stepped closer.
—That’s outside the university.
I recognized the place.
The courtyard.
The photograph had been taken the day we first entered the underground chamber.
Someone had been watching us.
The screen changed again.
A sentence appeared.
YOU KEEP LOOKING FOR THE PERSON WHO ERASED YOUR MEMORIES.
Then another.
YOU SHOULD BE LOOKING FOR THE PERSON WHO KEPT THEM.
My blood ran cold.
The girl slowly stepped backward.
—It’s time.
I looked at her.
—Time for what?
She smiled.
—For you to meet the person who has been carrying your memories all these years.
The theater doors opened.
Someone stood outside.
A woman.
She stepped into the light.
I knew her immediately.
Evelyn.
But she wasn’t alone.
Behind her stood my mother.
And between them was a man I had never seen before.
He was holding a black box.
Adrian moved in front of me.
The man smiled.
—You finally remember.
I stared at him.
—Who are you?
He looked at Adrian first.
Then at me.
—Ask your mother.
My mother closed her eyes.
Evelyn whispered: —Don’t.
The man opened the black box.
Inside was a silver thread.
And beside it— a photograph.
The photograph showed me and Adrian as children.
But this time, there was a third child standing between us.
A little boy.
I stared at him.
Something inside my mind cracked open.
I knew that face.
I had seen it before.
In the old photographs.
In the memories.
In the missing files.
I whispered his name.
—Julian.
Adrian turned sharply.
The man smiled.
—Now you remember.
Adrian stared at the photograph.
—That’s impossible.
The man looked at him.
—No.
He slowly closed the box.
—What’s impossible is what your father told you about what happened to your brother.
And then my mother’s voice broke through the silence.
—Because Julian Blackwood never died.
I looked at Adrian.
His face had gone completely white.
The man smiled.
—And he’s coming back.